UK economy slows to be paused in April
Saad khan 
Islamabad: In April, the UK economy saw a halt in its growth after a promising start to 2024, dampened by wet weather. The Office for National Statistics reported stagnant gross domestic product, as forecasted by economists surveyed by Reuters. March had seen a 0.4% increase month-on-month, but April showed no growth.
Labour market data earlier in the week had indicated declining employment alongside rising unemployment, despite robust wage growth. Financial markets reacted minimally to these figures, with investors considering the likelihood of a Bank of England interest rate cut next week as improbable.
Rachel Reeves, potentially the next finance minister if the Labour Party wins the upcoming election, used the data to criticize Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's election promises of economic recovery. Conversely, current finance minister Jeremy Hunt highlighted that the economy had expanded by 0.7% over the three months leading up to April, the fastest growth in nearly two years.
Opinion polls suggest the Labour Party could win the July 4th election with a significant lead over the Conservatives. Despite emerging from a shallow recession in the latter half of 2023, the economy only grew by 0.6% compared to a year ago, and 2.2% since the last national election in 2019.
Chief economist Paul Dales from Capital Economics suggested that April's growth stall wasn't indicative of a return to recession but was likely linked to adverse weather conditions impacting construction and retail sectors. Looking ahead, Dales anticipated a gradual easing of economic pressures from higher interest rates and inflation, providing some momentum for the next government.
While growth in April was driven by the services sector, including rapid expansions in information technology and professional services, manufacturing and construction outputs saw unexpected declines of 1.4% each compared to the predictions of economists polled by Reuters.
