UK economy fails to grow in wet April, official figures show
12 June 2024, 07:09 | Updated: 12 June 2024, 07:47
The UK economy recorded no growth in April, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.
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April's figures came after the UK economy grew slightly in March, by 0.4%.
Some economists had predicted that the economy would flatline in April, with wet weather expected to affect retail sales and construction.
Prior to these figures, the economy had improved recently, recording its fastest growth in two years from January to March.
The economy grew by an estimated 0.6% in the first quarter of 2024, pulling the UK out of a small recession at the end of last year.
Bank of England is set to make its next decision on interest rates next week, with the Monetary Policy Committee unlikely to lower interest rates without further progress on inflation and a cooling in the labour market.
The April figures represent a problem for Rishi Sunak as he seeks to keep hold of Downing Street. He has based much of his General Election campaign on the recent economic improvement.
Labour's' Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves claimed the figures showed the "damage" done by Conservative government.
She said: "Rishi Sunak claims we have turned a corner, but the economy has stalled and there is no growth.
"These figures expose the damage done after 14 years of Conservative chaos."
The Liberal Democrats said that Mr Sunak had presided over "stagnation and economic misery."
"As Rishi Sunak's time as Prime Minister peters out, so does the UK's economic growth," Treasury spokeswoman Sarah Olney said.
Services output grew by 0.2% in April, the fourth consecutive month of growth, while production output fell by 0.9% in April following growth of 0.2% in March.
Construction output fell by 1.4% in April, its third consecutive monthly fall, and was down by 2.2% in the three months to April.
Luke Bartholomew, deputy chief economist at asset management giant abrdn, said monthly GDP data can be volatile, and that it is "important not to put too much stead in just one month of data and look at the broader trend across several months".
He added: "And on that measure, a picture of solid recovery from last year's recession emerges. This should continue as the year progresses as households benefit from strong real income growth amid falling inflation."
Some economists said they thought that April would be a low point, with dropping inflation and Euro 2024 set to boost economic activity.
Suren Thiru, economics director at the Institute for Chartered Accountants of England and Wales, said: "The longer-term outlook will be heavily influenced by the extent to which whoever wins the general election is able to tackle the long-standing structural issues holding back our economy, including poor productivity and high economic inactivity."
And he added: "Despite these disappointing GDP figures, a June interest rate cut looks improbable with the Bank of England likely to be a little wary of shifting policy in the middle of a general election campaign.”
