Britain, which emerged from recession in the final quarter of 2009, faces a "high" risk of relapse, and below-average growth in the next two years, the British Chamber of Commerce warned on Sunday. "The UK economic outlook will remain highly uncertain for a considerable time," the BCC said in the group's latest economic forecast.
"The recovery will be fragile, and the risks of a relapse are high," it added. The BCC predicted that the economy will grow 1.0 percent this year, followed by expansion of 2.1 percent in 2011. It shrank by 5.0 percent in 2009.
The 2010 forecast was unchanged from previous guidance but the 2011 figure was lower than its prior prediction of 2.3-percent expansion.
"The obstacles to a sustained medium-term recovery now appear greater," the business group said. The BCC added that the recovery would be "modest and below the historical average in the next two years". Britain escaped from recession in the fourth quarter of last year with growth of 0.3 percent. The expansion during October-December 2009 followed a deep recession that lasted six quarters - the country's longest on record.