UK GDP grew 2.3% mom in April, slightly below expectation of 2.4% mom. That’s still the fastest monthly growth since July 2020, as pandemic restrictions eased. Services grew solidly by 3.4% mom. But production dropped -1.3% mom, first fall since January. Construction also contracted by -2.0% mom. Overall, GDP remains -3.7% below pre-pandemic levels seen in February 2020, but was 1.2% above initial recovery peak in October 2020.
Also released, industrial production came in at -1.3% mom, 27.5% yoy in April, versus expectation of 1.2% mom, 30.2% yoy. Manufacturing production came in at -0.3% mom, 39.7% yoy, versus expectation of 1.5% mom, 42.0% yoy. Goods trade deficit narrowed slightly to GBP -11.0B.
