The U.K. economy shrank sharply in April as global trade tariffs and domestic tax rises kicked in, data showed Thursday.
The latest monthly growth figures from the Office for National Statistics showed the U.K. economy contracted 0.3% month on month in April, following growth of 0.2% in March. It was also more than the 0.1% fall economists were expecting.
The decline in April came as U.S. President Donald Trump announced global trade tariffs on trading partners and adversaries alike, creating widespread business uncertainty.
The monthly gross domestic product data showed industrial production and services output in particular fell sharply in April, while construction output grew, the ONS said, noting the toll Trump’s tariffs had taken on U.K. exports.
“After increasing for each of the four preceding months, April saw the largest monthly fall on record in goods exports to the United States with decreases seen across most types of goods, following the recent introduction of tariffs,” Liz McKeown, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said Thursday.
