LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s economy fell by an unexpected 0.3% in April, heightening fears of a slowdown, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed on Monday, as the Bank of England (BoE), which is meeting its committee on Thursday, could also raise its main key rate.
Economists polled by Reuters on average expected gross domestic product (GDP) to rise 0.1% in April.
This is the first time all major economic sectors have contributed negatively to a monthly GDP estimate since January 2021, the ONS said.
However, GDP would have grown by 0.1% had it not been for the impact of cuts to government coronavirus testing and vaccination programmes, the ONS added.
In the quarter to the end of April, GDP grew 0.2%, a sharp slowdown from the 0.8% growth recorded in the three months to March. A Reuters consensus was expecting growth of 0.4% for the February-April period.
(Report William Schomberg and Andy Bruce; French version Alizée Degorce, edited by Kate Entringer)
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