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Economy in brief: May 2025

Alpesh Paleja CBI Deputy Chief Economist

Your monthly guide to the UK economy, giving you a monthly overview of the major trends impacting the UK's main business sectors.

02 Jun 2025, 3 min read

Mixed messages on momentum

The UK economy started the year on a high, with GDP growing by a robust 0.7% in Q1. However, this was at odds with business surveys - including our own - which pointed to much softer momentum going into 2025. On the one hand, survey responses could have been influenced by weaker sentiment and rising uncertainty, given the impact of continued cost pressures and the build-up in global trade barriers emanating from the US. Qualitative survey data

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