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UK economic growth slowed as US President Donald Trump’s tariffs hit and businesses grappled with higher costs, official figures show.
A measure of everything produced in the economy, gross domestic product (GDP), expanded just 0.3% in the three months to June, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
It’s a slowdown from the first three months of the year when businesses rushed to prepare for Mr Trump’s taxes on imports, and GDP rose 0.7%.
But it’s also a stronger showing than expected. Economists polled by Reuters had only anticipated GDP expansion of 0.1% across April to June.
The figure was better than anticipated after a strong June. Across the month, GDP rose 0.4%, surprising observers.
Caution from customers and higher costs for employers, however, led to the lower growth reading to June rather than the previous quarter.
Economic activity in April and May, in particular, was weak as purchases were brought forward ahead of the stamp duty change and tariff changes.
Costs also rose for households as energy, water and council tax bills rose, leading to higher inflation overall.
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