Published on
12/06/2026 - 11:05 GMT+2
The UK economy shrank by 0.1% in April, according to data published on Friday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), ending a run of monthly growth stretching back to last summer and suggesting that the Iran war is beginning to weigh on British output.
Services, the dominant sector of the British economy, fell by 0.2% on the month, while production was flat and construction inched up by 0.1%. Over the three months to April, GDP still expanded by 0.7%, the fifth consecutive period of three-month growth.
The biggest single drag on output came from sports, amusement and recreation activities, which plunged by 9.1%. The ONS attributed part of the fall to the cancellation of multiple sporting events in the Middle East, which hit the revenues of UK-based businesses.
