Official data showed that the British economy contracted unexpectedly at a monthly rate of 0.3% in April, adding to fears of a slowdown three days before the Bank of England announced its latest interest rate band to counter rising inflation.
The median opinion of economists in a Reuters poll points to GDP growth of 0.1% in April compared to March.
The Office for National Statistics said that for the first time since January 2021, all major sectors of the economy contributed negatively to the monthly GDP estimate.
However, the agency indicated that the gross domestic product would have grown by 0.1% if the effect of cuts in government testing programs, contact tracing of people infected with the Corona virus and immunization against the virus is excluded.
In the three months to April, GDP rose 0.2%, decelerating sharply from 0.8% growth in the three months to March.
A Reuters poll showed a rise of 0.4% between February and April.
Source: El Iktisad
