Is the UK economy really heading for a V-shaped recovery?

The Bank of England’s chief economist thinks we’re getting one. But what actually is a V-shaped recovery? And what does it mean if we get one? Ben Chu explains

‘It is early days, but my reading of the evidence is so far, so V,’ says Andy Haldane (Rex)

The chief economist of the Bank of England, Andy Haldane, sounded a note of optimism about the UK economy in a speech this week.

Though the Office for National Statistics estimates that the UK economy collapsed by a stunning 20 per cent in April alone, Mr Haldane said more recent data on consumer spending patterns had led him to believe the UK’s recovery was now “materially faster” than the Bank of England had expected in May.

“It is early days, but my reading of the evidence is so far, so V,” he said, referring to a V-shaped recovery.