Lates News

Before Donald Trump's trade war undermined business and consumer confidence, the UK economy experienced its strongest quarterly growth in a year. The UK Office for National Statistics announced on Thursday that GDP grew by 0.7% in the first quarter, higher than the 0.1% in the last quarter of 2024 and higher than the expected 0.6% from the Bank of England and private sector economists. Economic output in March grew by 0.2%, rather than stagnating as economists had predicted. This suggests that businesses and consumers remained resilient during this month, before the significant tax hikes on employers and Trump's impending announcement of comprehensive global tariffs. Strong growth in the service and construction sectors helped offset the sharp decline in manufacturing. Economic growth is good news for Keir Starmer's Labour government, who have been working to promote economic development since winning the general election last summer. However, economists urge caution. The first quarter was mainly driven by strong growth in February, with factories increasing production to try to boost exports to the US before Trump's expected tariff hikes.