The UK economy grew 0.4% in July, official figures showed Friday, defying forecasts for no growth and extending signs of resilience at the start of the third quarter, the Guardian reported.
The Office for National Statistics said gross domestic product rose by 0.4% in July, following a 0.3% increase in June. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the economy would be unchanged.
The services sector was the largest contributor to the expansion, up 0.4%. Information technology and computer programming were some of the strongest contributors. ONS economic statistics director Liz McKeown said there was “evidence that businesses involved with AI and related technologies helped to boost this sector”.
Manufacturing output rose 0.9% in July, while construction increased 0.1%. Over the three months to July, which smooths out monthly volatility, the economy grew 0.4%, matching the previous quarter’s expansion.
The numbers are a bit of a relief for the government, but the outlook remains unclear. Rising tensions in the Middle East have pushed up oil prices and raised fresh concerns about inflation and the potential to dampen household spending and increase business costs. The Bank of England is predicting growth of only 0.1% for the third quarter.
