UK economy shrank 0.1% in April as Iran conflict weighed on growth

The U.K. economy shrank by 0.1% in the month to April, figures published on Friday showed, as the impacts of the Iran war continue to hamper growth.

A 0.2% contraction in services activity was cited as the main driver of the negative growth, with officials saying it had been partly offset by a 0.1% rise in construction output. Production output showed zero growth for the month.

Economists polled by Reuters had been expecting the British economy to contract by 0.1% month-on-month.

April's print followed growth of 0.3% in March, 0.4% in February and no growth in January.