Britain’s gross domestic product shrank by 6.1 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2021, a fifth consecutive period of contraction and in line with market expectations, a preliminary estimate showed. Household consumption dropped 10.4 percent (vs -9.2 percent in Q4) and fixed investment fell 3.7 percent (vs -2.6 percent in Q4). Meanwhile, net external demand contributed positively to the GDP, as exports slumped 12.2 percent and imports declined at a faster 13.6 percent. Public investment, however, grew 4.8 percent, the most since the second quarter of 2019. The level of GDP in the UK was also 8.7 percent below where it was prior to the pandemic at the end of 2019.