January 17, 2022: -Britain’s economy grew by a much stronger-than-expected 0.9%, finally taking it above its size right before the country went into its first COVID-19 lockdown, the Office for National Statistics said on Friday.

The ONS said that the world’s fifth-biggest economy was 0.7% bigger than it was in February 2020.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast monthly gross domestic product growth of 0.4% for November.

“It’s amazing to see the size of the economy back to pre-pandemic levels in November, a testament to the grit and determination of the British people,” finance minister Rishi Sunak said.

Some economies have recovered their pre-COVID size, chief among them the United States.

Despite November’s growth acceleration, GDP probably was hit in December when the Omicron coronavirus variant swept Europe. The loss of momentum is to have stretched into January, with many firms reporting severe staff absences and consumers still wary of going out.

But as per health officials, the Omicron infections wave has peaked in Britain, and analysts say the hit to the economy is likely to be short-lived, allowing the Bank of England to continue creating interest rates this year.

The ONS said, data revisions aside, GDP in quarterly terms would surpass its pre-coronavirus level in the October-December period of the previous year, as long as economic output does not fall by more than 0.2% in December.

The ONS said architects, retailers, couriers, and accountants had a bumper month in November, and construction recovered from weak months as raw materials became more accessible to source after problems in global supply chains.

Britain’s economy is about to face challenges in the months ahead, even once coronavirus restrictions are relaxed.

“While the UK economy should rebound once Plan B measures are lifted, increasing inflation, and persistent supply chain disruption may mean that the UK’s economic growth prospects remain under pressure for much of 2022,” Suren Thiru, head of economics at the British