IoD press release April’s consumer spending figures are a relief to businesses worrying about the state of the economy
Commenting on ONS data that shows monthly GDP fell by 0.3% in April 2022, Kitty Ussher, Chief Economist at the Institute of Directors, said:
“Although this headline figure is lower than expected, April’s economic contraction is entirely due to the scaling back of the government’s Test and Trace activity. If that effect is removed the economy would have grown.
“In particular, business will take reassurance from the strong performance in retail sales and consumer-facing services in April following a wobble in March. Although headline consumer confidence remains low it seems many people are nevertheless keen to go out and enjoy their post pandemic freedoms.
“Business leaders will now be looking to the Bank of England to demonstrate a clear resolve to bring inflation back down when it meets on Thursday, so that they can start to plan for the future with greater confidence.”
