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Economic growth in Britain stalled in April in a blow to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is trying to revive a faltering election campaign.
The zero growth rate for the month compared with 0.4 percent growth in March, according to data published by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday.
It also marked a sharp slowdown from the 0.6 percent growth in the first quarter, which ended last year’s technical recession.
However, GDP in the three months to April was 0.7 percent higher than in the previous three-month period.
The latest monthly figure, which matched forecasts by economists polled by Reuters, came as the wettest April in more than a decade hit the services and construction sectors.
In his campaign appearances ahead of the snap election, Sunak has repeatedly pointed to Britain’s first quarter growth as a sign of the country’s economic strength.
The Prime Minister has cited comments from the ONS’s chief economist that the expansion during that period showed the British economy was “gangbusters”. The statistics office later clarified that the phrase was not intended as a commentary on the general state of the economy.
In opinion polls, the Conservatives lag behind the opposition Labor party by about 20 percentage points.
Responding to the ONS data, the Conservative Party said it showed there was “more to do, but the economy is turning around and inflation is back to normal”.
However, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “Rishi Sunak claims we have turned a corner, but the economy has come to a standstill and there is no growth.”
Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite the Union, said the figures were “once again . . . How far we are from the kind of high economic growth that politicians keep promising is just the next hill.”
Paul Dales, chief Britain economist at consultancy Capital Economics, said the April slowdown “doesn’t mean the economic recovery has died down, but it is hardly good news for the prime minister”.
But he and other economists said output is still likely to grow over the second quarter as a whole, as strong wage growth, lower inflation and drier weather helped consumption recover.
This could “generate a bit of economic tailwind for the next administration,” Dales said.
The figures showed that services output grew by a healthy 0.9 percent in the three months to April, boosted by the strength of the technology sector, scientific research and development and advertising.
But the pace of growth slowed abruptly in April as wet weather hampered consumer spending at stores and restaurants. The weather also disrupted construction sites, with construction output falling 1.4 percent this month.
Industrial production fell 1.4 percent between March and April, reflecting a decline in pharmaceutical production, which had risen sharply in a one-off boost the previous month.
Sterling was unchanged against the dollar at $1.274 after the data was released. Investors expect a first rate cut by the Bank of England in November, and a second quarter-point cut in March next year.
Luke Bartholomew, economist at asset manager Abrdn, said the broader picture was still one of “a solid recovery from last year’s recession”.
He added that the latest data would not change the outlook for interest rates, with a BoE rate cut in June “very unlikely, but an August move still on the horizon”.
Suren Thiru, director of economics at the ICAEW accounting firm, also said April’s “stumble” was likely to prove to be the “trough”, with lower inflation boosting real incomes and the Euro 2024 football tournament boosting consumer activity.
But Thiru added that longer-term prospects would depend on the extent to which the winner of the election addresses “long-standing structural problems”.