Great Britain’s gross domestic product (GDP) decreased in the third quarter of this year, the official statistics service announced today, while forecasters warn that this will continue for months.The Bureau of Statistics announced that the gross domestic product decreased by 0.2 percent from the beginning of July to the end of September, which is less than expected, but it is still believed to signal the beginning of a long recession.

GDP decreased by 0.6 percent in September, and by 0.1 percent in August, the Bureau of Statistics announced. It said the fall in production and the extra holiday marking the death of Queen Elizabeth II contributed to a “noticeable drop in retail sales”.

It was also said that GDP is now 0.2 percent lower than in February 2020, just before the covid-19 pandemic closed large parts of the economy for several months.

Britain’s economy, like that of many other countries, is struggling as the Russian invasion of Ukraine has driven up food and energy prices, pushing consumer price inflation to a 40-year high.

The Bank of England raised its main interest rate last week by three-quarters of a percentage point to three percent, the biggest increase in three decades. The central bank said the move was needed to beat high inflation that is eroding living standards and likely to trigger a “prolonged” recession.

The UK’s finances took a turn for the worse when now-former Prime Minister Liz Truss announced a massive package of unfunded tax cuts on 23 September. The package rattled financial markets, sent the pound to a record low against the dollar and forced the Bank of England to act to prevent the crisis from spreading.

Tas resigned less than a month after the decision, leaving her successor, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt to find billions to shore up public finances.

Hunt is due to produce an emergency budget report next week in which both tax increases and cuts in public spending are expected. He said today’s figures show that “extremely difficult decisions will be needed to restore confidence and economic stability. But to achieve long-term, sustainable growth, we need to contain inflation, balance the books and get debt down. There is no other way”.

Nicolas Hiet, an analyst at the investment firm “Welt Club”, said that “given that consumers are closing their doors to the harsh winter and the government is proposing significant tax increases and spending cuts, we think GDP will decrease in the fourth quarter as well.”