Despite declines in manufacturing and construction, the retail sector and the film industry both contributed to the expansion of the economy in the United Kingdom in the month of April.
The UK economy expanded by 0.2% month-over-month in April, according to the Office for National Statistics, with this result being in line with market forecasts. Despite this, the markets showed little reaction to the numbers, in contrast to the statistics on the job market and inflation the day before, which bolstered expectations of an interest rate hike from the Bank of England.
Business survey data showed sluggish activity but not the recession that had been feared.
According to the British Chamber of Commerce, the economy grew by only 0.1% during the past three months.
According to forecasts by the consulting firm Pantheon Macroeconomics, the gross domestic product in the second quarter will not deviate significantly from what it was in the first quarter. They also noted that GDP in May was projected to be lowered by 0.2 percentage points due to the negative impact of strikes in the public sector and the loss of a working day due to the king’s coronation.
Because of the young physicians' strike that lasted for four days in April, the health sector was a big drag on overall GDP.
Treasury Secretary Jeremy Hunt responded to the released statistics by saying that the government would continue to work toward achieving its goal of reducing inflation by one-half this year.
The Office for National Statistics reports that in April the economy had grown by 0.3% from its February 2020, pre-pandemic level. The wholesale and retail sectors were the primary contributors to the 0.3% monthly increase in service volume.
Another area that made a substantial impact was the technology and communications industry. Nonetheless, industrial production dropped by 0.3%, while the building industry saw a 0.6% surprise slowdown.
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