Chancellor Sunak Sees U.K. Economy Returning to Pre-Covid Level in Mid-2022

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. Chancellor Rishi Sunak says in annual budget statement that Office for Budget Responsibility expects the economy “to return to its pre-Covid level by the middle of next year -- six months earlier than they previously thought”.

“But while our prospects are now stronger, coronavirus has done and is still doing profound damage,” Sunak says. “And today’s forecasts make clear repairing the long-term damage will take time”

“The OBR still expect that in five years’ time, because of coronavirus, our economy will be 3% smaller than it would have been”

“The OBR forecast that our economy will grow this year by 4%, by 7.3% in 2022, then 1.7%, 1.6% and 1.7% in the last three years of the forecast”