In the three months to April 2018, services output increased by 0.2% compared with the three months ending January 2018; this is the lowest rate of growth since the three months to November 2017.

Government and other services made the largest contribution to the three-month on three-month growth, contributing 0.11 percentage points.

The Index of Services increased by 0.3% between March 2018 and April 2018; this is the highest month-on-month growth since November 2017.

Retail trade was the main contributor to the month-on-month increase, contributing 0.11 percentage points.