UK ECONOMY EXPANDS BY 0.2 PCT IN AUGUST: ONS

Fri 13 October 2023:

The United Kingdom’s (UK) economy expanded by 0.2 percent month-to-month in August, following a fall of 0.6 percent in July, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Thursday.

Services output rose by 0.4 percent in the month, becoming the main contributor to the growth in gross domestic product (GDP), while production output contracted by 0.7 percent and the construction sector fell by 0.5 percent, the ONS noted.

Within services sector, education has returned to normal levels, while computer programmers and engineers both had strong months, said Darren Morgan, director of economic statistics at the ONS.

In the three months to August, the UK economy increased by 0.3 percent, with growth in all sectors.

“The UK eked out growth in August, but only just, demonstrating how the burden of high borrowing costs and the wider cost-of-living crisis is still weighing hard on consumer and company sentiment,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at financial services company Hargreaves Lansdown.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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