The UK economy experienced stagnation in April, as reported by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday. The growth in services output was neutralized by declines in both production and construction outputs.
As anticipated, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) remained unchanged from the previous month, following a 0.4 percent expansion in March.
From a production perspective, the services sector showed a modest increase of 0.2 percent, marking its fourth consecutive monthly rise. In contrast, industrial output experienced a substantial decline of 0.9 percent, surpassing the forecasted marginal drop of 0.1 percent, after a 0.2 percent increase in March. A significant driver of this decline was a 1.4 percent reduction in manufacturing output.
Simultaneously, construction output decreased by 1.4 percent, defying expectations of a 0.1 percent rise, and marking the third consecutive monthly decline. In the three months leading up to April, real GDP grew by 0.7 percent compared to the previous three months.
Additional data from the ONS indicated that the visible trade deficit expanded to GBP 19.6 billion in April from GBP 13.9 billion in March, notably exceeding the forecasted shortfall of GBP 14.2 billion. The surplus in trade in services remained relatively stable at GBP 12.86 billion. As a result, the overall trade deficit increased to GBP 6.75 billion from GBP 1.1 billion in March.
