Economy went into reverse in April as Rachel Reeves blames Iran war chaos

By JAMES TAPSFIELD, UK POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 07:15, 12 June 2026 | Updated: 07:28, 12 June 2026 The economy went into reverse in April amid Iran war chaos, official figures showed today. GDP dipped by 0.1 per cent over the month, with the powerhouse services sector bearing the brunt of the pain. Chancellor Rachel Reeves blamed the Middle East crisis for the poor performance - which was largely in line with the expectations of analysts. GDP dipped by 0.1 per cent over the month, with the powerhouse services sector bearing the brunt of the pain She said: 'Before the conflict in the Middle East, growth was higher than expected and inflation was falling. This is not a war we wanted or joined, but one that will have an impact at home. 'Our economic plan is the right one, with both the IMF and OECD upgrading their forecasts for growth recently. 'The choices I have made as Chancellor mean our economy is in a stronger position to deal with the costs of the war, and we are getting on with the job of building a stronger and more secure economy.' Chancellor Rachel Reeves blamed the Middle East crisis for the poor performance - which was largely in line with the expectations of analysts The decline in April was driven by a 0.2 per cent fall in services, which was partially offset by a 0.1 per cent rise in construction and 0.4 per cent growth in manufacturing. In the three months to April, GDP grew by 0.7 per cent, according to the ONS. Liz McKeown, ONS director of economic statistics said: 'The economy grew in the latest three months as a whole, reflecting strong growth in February and March. 'This was despite April showing a small fall.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.