The UK economy contracted in the first quarter as school closures and a large fall in retail sales earlier in the quarter dragged down growth, the Office for National Statistics reported Wednesday.
Gross domestic product shrank 1.5 percent sequentially, reversing a 1.3 percent rise in the fourth quarter. Economists had forecast a sequential drop of 1.6 percent. The economy contracted again in the first quarter after rising for two straight quarters. On a yearly basis, GDP dropped 6.1 percent, as expected in the first quarter.
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May 15, 2026 15:25 ET Apart from the confirmation of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair, the main news on the economics front this week included key price data from the U.S. and the first quarter economic growth figures from major economies. Both consumer prices and producer costs have started to reflect the effect of supply shocks due to the Middle East conflict. In Europe, GDP data was in focus, while inflation data from China dominated the news flow in Asia.