UK economy shrinks in April after US tariffs hit

Britain's economic output contracted sharply in April when shockwaves from US President Donald Trump's announcement of wide-ranging tariffs hit the global economy, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed on June 12.

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LONDON -

Gross domestic output shrank by a worse than expected 0.3 per cent in April from March - the biggest monthly drop since October 2023 and a much bigger drop than the 0.1 per cent fall forecast in a Reuters poll.

ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown said: "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."