UK economy begins tepid recovery in May

LONDON: Britain’s economy took a first step on the long road to recovery from the Covid-19 crisis in May, as activity began to pick up after lockdown restrictions began to ease, but there was less of a rebound than economists had forecast.

Gross domestic product rose by 1.8% in May after slumping by a record 20.3% in April, Britain’s first full month of lockdown, the Office for National Statistics said, below all forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists.