British GDP contracts by 0.4 pct in April as car production plunges

LONDON, June 10 (Xinhua) -- British gross domestic product (GDP) growth contracted by 0.4 percent in April 2019, compared with the previous month, mainly due to a plunge in manufacturing, according to a survey released Monday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Data showed that monthly growth of production fell by 2.7 percent in April, driven by manufacturing that was down 3.9 percent compared with March 2019.

Figures by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders stated that car manufacturing fell by 44.5 percent in April 2019, compared with the same period one year earlier.

Meanwhile, in the three months to April 2019, British GDP grew by 0.3 percent, compared with that between November 2018 and January 2019.
The services sector increased by 0.2 percent in the three months to April 2019, the production sector grew by 0.7 percent and construction rose by 0.4 percent, respectively compared with the previous three-month period.

"GDP growth showed some weakening across the latest 3 months, with the economy shrinking in the month of April mainly due to a dramatic fall in car production, with uncertainty ahead of the UK's original EU (European Union) departure date leading to planned shutdowns," said Rob Kent-Smith, Head of GDP at the ONS.

"There was also widespread weakness across manufacturing in April, as the boost from the early completion of orders ahead of the UK's original EU departure date has faded," he added.