The UK economy posted modest growth in April, bouncing back from a fall in March, boosted by growth in the service sector, official figures showed.
Gross domestic product grew 0.2% in April, after a fall of 0.3% in March, the Office for National Statistics said. For the three months to April, GDP grew by 0.1%.
The figure was in line with analysts’ expectations and was driven by the services sector, which expanded 0.3%. Output in consumer-facing services, such as stores and restaurants, grew by 1% in April, following a fall of 0.8% in the previous month.
Production output fell by 0.3% after growth of 0.7% in March while the construction sector fell by 0.6% following growth of 0.2% in March.
Chris Scicluna at Daiwa said the figures provide "a reminder that UK economic activity can do little better than flat-line.”
“Sectors that grew in March largely fell back in April, and vice versa, with momentum looking weak across the economy.”
“While much-improved weather in the current month will have supported a rebound, we maintain our forecast that GDP will have failed to grow at all in Q2.”
“And with significant further monetary tightening from the BoE seemingly now in store, the risks to growth over coming quarters look skewed to the downside, with non-negligible risks of recession in 2024 in particular.”