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UK economy contracted 0.3 percent in April

UK economy contracted 0.3 percent in April

by host

U.K. output fell by 0.3 percent in April over March, according to data released by the Office for National Statistics Monday.

That reading is well below the 0.1 percent increase seen by a Reuters forecast and follows a 0.1 percent drop in March.

It also marks the first time that all main sectors of the economy dragged down growth since January 2021. The service sector fell by 0.3 percent, reflecting a large drop of 5.6 percent in human health and social work activities — which were hard hit by a reduction in test and trace activity through the National Health Service.

The construction sector fell by 0.4 percent while the production sector shrank by 0.6 percent, with companies suffering from surging fuel and energy prices.

Monthly gross domestic product is now only 0.9 percent above its pre-pandemic level in February 2020. Overall, GDP has increased by 0.2 percent in the three months leading up to April, the ONS reported.

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