The British economy is clearly having a headwind. British factories produce less and the export and import volumes reached the lowest level in years. This appears from an estimate by the British National Statistical Office.

The UK economy contracted by 0.4 percent on a monthly basis in April, down from a 0.1 percent decline in the previous period. This meant the largest monthly decline since 2016. Economists generally took into account a decline of 0.1 percent.

During the measurement period, industrial production, among other things, appeared to have contracted more than expected. According to the British statistics bureau, production fell by 2.7 percent on a monthly basis. Economists had on average expected a fall in industrial production of 1 percent.

Many British producers benefited in the first months of the year from the high demand from customers who built up stocks ahead of the Brexit. However, this effect fades away.

The volume of exports decreased by 10.9 percent, which was the strongest drop since 2006. Imports were 14.4 percent lower. Such a relapse has not been observed since 1998.