The Uk economy recorded its biggest gain in 80 years, but it is facing both the test of the epidemic and inflation

Data released on Friday confirmed that the fast-spreading Omiljung variant in Britain at the end of last year hampered the country's economic recovery, though the impact was less than expected.

Britain's Office for National Statistics said Britain's gross domestic product fell 0.2 per cent in December from the previous month as the government called on people to work from home as much as possible. The high number of cases and voluntary social distancing have led to a wave of cancellations of social activities in restaurants, bars and theatres. Economists had previously forecast an average decline of 0.5 percent.

These data further demonstrate that with the increasing popularity of vaccination, the toxicity of the virus has diminished, and the same is true for the economy. Because restrictions are also looser, The Opmikeron has less impact on the economy than the previous virus. For example, in January 2021, the UK entered a strict lockdown and the country's economy contracted by almost 3%.

Last year's economic recovery was volatile. The early boost from reopening this spring eventually slowed to moderate growth in the second half of the year, when the number of cases was high, supply chain bottlenecks hampered businesses and exports fell. Still, the economy grew by 7.5 percent in 2021, the fastest pace since 1941, after a 9.4 percent decline in the previous year.

By the end of last year, the UK economy was on par with pre-pandemic levels. Health services have fueled the recovery, with billions of pounds being spent to test and trace contacts of the virus. Consumer-facing services such as restaurants, bars, travel and entertainment remain more than 8% below pre-pandemic levels.

The UK is trying to enter a new phase where the coronavirus is considered endemic. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said this week he hoped to remove the remaining epidemic prevention rules, including the legal requirement to self-isolate positive cases, as early as this month. But in the post-pandemic phase when the economic impact of the coronavirus is waning, high energy prices and rapid inflation pose another economic challenge.

Price increases are expected to peak at more than 7 percent in April, but wages have not kept up, energy bills are rising and tax increases are planned. Tightening household budgets is expected to dampen consumer spending and weigh on the economy in the second half of the year.

"The Opmikron wave has only briefly hampered Britain's strong economic recovery, which should be more stable from now on," James Smith, head of research at the Resolution Foundation, said in a statement. The Foundation is a think tank focused on living standards in the UK. This will allow policymakers to focus on "the more pressing cost-of-living crisis that the UK is experiencing".

In the past two months, the Bank of England has raised interest rates twice in an attempt to cool the economy. Last week, central banker Andrew Bailey said after announcing a second rate hike, "We raised interest rates today because the economy is growing rapidly." He said the move was necessary to try to pull inflation back to its 2 percent target, with more rate hikes likely in the coming months.

The central bank, which expects the UK economy to grow by 3.75 percent this year, lowered its 5 percent forecast for November last year as inflation-adjusted household income growth is expected to be negative over the next two years.

This article originated from the financial world