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Added on the 12/12/2018 20:25:40 - Copyright : Wochit
As new figures show the UK is in recession, with two successive quarters of falling GDP in Q3 and Q4 2023, the UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt says that the economy is "more resilient than most people predicted" and insists that the government will "stick to our guns" on its plans to bring down inflation. News of the recession comes as voters go to the polls in two by-elections on Thursday, with the Conservatives fearful of losing one-time strongholds in Wellingborough, central England, and Kingswood in the southwest. SOUNDBITE
The European Commission sharply cuts its 2023 growth forecast for Germany, predicting the EU's biggest economy will be in recession this year. SOUNDBITE
The EU hikes its eurozone growth forecast for 2023 from 0.3 to 0.9 percent on the back of lower gas prices, with EU Commissioner for Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, announcing that the "EU economy is thus set to narrowly escape the technical recession that was projected back in autumn," at a conference in Brussels, Belgium. SOUNDBITE
The EU warns the eurozone is expected to fall into recession this winter as soaring energy prices batter the wallets of consumers around the continent. "The outlook for next year has weakened significantly and we now forecast the EU economy to grow by only 0.3 percent in 2023 before a progressive recovery to 1.6 percent in 2024" the European Commissioner for Economy, Paolo Gentiloni says. SOUNDBITE
Global growth is expected to slow further next year, the IMF says, downgrading its forecasts as countries grapple with the fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, spiraling cost-of-living and economic downturns. SOUNDBITE
IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva warns that if central banks move too aggressively to tamp down price pressures, it could trigger a "prolonged" economic downturn. SOUNDBITE