UK Economy Shrinks 0.1%

(RTTNews) - The UK economy contracted in April due to weakness in the services sector, the Office for National Statistics reported Friday.

Real gross domestic product posted a contraction of 0.1 percent in April, in contrast to a 0.3 percent expansion in March. This was the first monthly fall since August 2025 and also came in line with expectations.

The decline was driven by a 0.2 percent fall in services output. This was offset by a 0.1 percent increase in construction output.

At the same time, industrial production showed no growth after falling 0.2 percent in March. Within in industrial output, manufacturing output climbed 0.4 percent but came in slower than the 1.2 percent rise seen in March.

Another report from the ONS showed that the visible trade deficit narrowed in April as exports increased amid falling imports. The visible trade gap fell to GBP 26.05 billion in April from GBP 27.22 billion in March.

Exports logged faster monthly growth of 2.4 percent, while imports dropped 0.7 percent.

The total trade balance that combines goods and services trade, registered a deficit of GBP 8.4 billion compared to a shortfall of GBP 9.7 billion in March.