UK's GDP plunges 19.8% between April and June, ONS figures show

The UK economy’s record contraction in the second quarter was less severe than first thought, with gross domestic product plunging 19.8 per cent between April and June, the Office for National Statistics has said.

The ONS also revised first-quarter figures, which now show a steeper contraction of 2.5 per cent between January and March.

It previously estimated that GDP fell 2.2 per cent in the first quarter and 20.4 per cent in the following three months.

Despite the revisions, the UK economy still tumbled into the largest recession since current records began after two successive quarters of falling GDP due to the coronavirus crisis.

The ONS said: “While it is still true that these early estimates are prone to revision, we prefer to focus on the magnitude of the contraction that has taken place in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

“It is clear that the UK is in the largest recession on record.

“The latest estimates show that the UK economy is now 21.8% smaller than it was at the end of 2019, highlighting the unprecedented size of this contraction.”

Forced to stay at home during the lockdown, Britons ramped up their savings instead of spending - sending the household saving ratio soaring to an all-time high of 29.1% in the second quarter.

This was up from the 9.6% saving ratio in the first three months of the year, according to the ONS.