Overview
- The Office for National Statistics said on Friday that monthly GDP fell 0.1% in April after a strong start to the year.
- Services led the decline with a 0.2% fall driven by a 4.3% drop in arts and entertainment and a 9.1% fall in sports and recreation.
- Retail sales fell 1.3% and motor fuel volumes plunged 10.2% as households front‑loaded purchases in March and then sharply reduced journeys when pump prices rose.
- Businesses and ONS survey responses linked much of the shock to higher energy and fuel costs from the Iran conflict and to cancelled Gulf events, and economists warn the hit could slow growth through Q2–Q3 while pushing inflation up.
- Despite the April setback the three‑month measure to April showed modest growth of 0.7%, but the squeeze on household budgets is likely to raise borrowing‑cost and public‑finance pressures and increase political scrutiny of the Treasury.