And Britain’s central bank raised interest rates in the country by 25 basis points to 4.5%, continuing its hawkish policy to curb inflation, which is still the highest of all developed economies.
Hunt believes Britain has “a long way to go” to bring inflation under control.
The minister’s remarks came after data showed the UK economy grew slightly by 0.1% in the first quarter of this year.
“Nobody expected these growth numbers,” Hunt told CNBC, referring to the positive and unexpected growth Britain achieved in the first quarter.
The minister also noted that there are “continuing concerns” about employment and production rates in the country, as well as increased long-term growth.
Hunt defended Britain’s economic performance, saying the economy is growing despite being affected by macroeconomic concerns, as well as the pandemic, and a wave of rising energy prices, ” possibly the highest since 1970,” as he put it.
He explained that the ‘Covid-19′ pandemic has caused global logistical bottlenecks that have affected Britain’s economy, and the outbreak of the crisis in Ukraine has prompted Britain to impose sanctions on Russia. , and Moscow prevented its oil supplies from the West.
Hunt underlined his support for the Bank of England’s decisions, saying the measure will have to deal with the instability caused by inflation in the country.
“Once inflation comes down and stabilization is achieved, we can start to pick up growth again,” the minister said.
The Bank of England, whose decision on Thursday was in line with analysts’ expectations, said Britain’s economy would avoid recession this year.
The Bank of England was among the first major central banks to raise interest rates to control rising prices, reaching their highest levels since 2008.
Inflation in the UK remains above 10% and the highest in Western Europe.
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