UK economy returns to growth in April

The latest estimates for UK GDP growth suggest the economy picked up again in April. That said, the UK’s growth performance remains choppy and uneven and downside risks remain acute.

The highlights of this report were as follows:

• In April, the UK economy grew by 0.2%m/m, which mostly offset a decline of 0.3% in March. This was in line with UK economists’ expectations.

• Looking at the three-month period leading up to April, GDP grew by 0.1%, matching the pedestrian rate of growth chalked up over the previous three months.

• The growth in output in April was mainly driven by the services sector, which saw a 0.3% increase in output following a 0.5% decline in March.
• More specifically, output in consumer-facing services grew by 1.0% in April, reversing the 0.8% decline seen in March. The food and beverage service sector played a significant role in this bounce-back.

• In contrast, output contracted in other key component sectors such as production and construction. Specifically, industrial production fell by 0.3% in April after an increase of 0.7% in March. The construction sector in the meantime saw a 0.6% decline in output in April following a 0.2% rise in March.