Britain’s economy shrank last month partly due to the additional bank holiday for the King’s Coronation, official figures show.
Office for National Statistics data said the economy contracted by 0.1 per cent in May following growth of 0.2 per cent in April.
The contraction was driven by the extra bank holiday weekend for the royal occasion, meaning sectors like construction and finance lost a working day in the month.
Economists had been expecting the economy to shrink slightly more. Deutsche Bank thought the monthly GDP decline would be 0.3 per cent, while Investec Economics had predicted 0.5 per cent.
The economy had been boosted in April as Britons spent more in pubs, bars and shops.
Darren Morgan, director for economic statistics at the ONS, said: “GDP fell slightly as manufacturing, energy generation and construction all fell back with some industries impacted by one fewer working day than normal.
“Meanwhile, despite the coronation bank holiday, pubs and bars saw sales fall after a strong April. Employment agencies also saw another poor month.
“However, services were flat overall with health recovering, with less impact from strikes than in the previous month, and IT also had a strong month.
“Across the last three months as a whole the economy showed no growth.”
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