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Warm weather and World Cup sees UK GDP beat forecasts

Paloma Kubiak
Written By:
Paloma Kubiak
Posted:
Updated:
10/09/2018

In the three months to July, UK Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was estimated to have grown by 0.6%, thanks to a combination of warm weather and the World Cup.

The rolling three-month growth figure is at its highest since August 2017, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

On a month-by-month basis, GDP grew by 0.3%, defying the 0.2% forecast growth.

The service sector performed particularly strongly, and the construction sector also bounced back after a weak start to the year.

But the ONS noted that production fell back, with manufacturing slipping while energy generation and supply also fell due to reduced demand.

Ian Forrest, investment research analyst at The Share Centre, said: “The combination of warm weather and the World Cup stimulated the UK economy more than expected in July.

“The services sector saw good growth in July and the ONS picked out engineers, accountants and lawyers as especially busy, while the construction sector also saw a good recovery in activity.

“Production and manufacturing fell back but they are relatively small parts of the overall economy, and the picture presented by today’s data suggests that the third quarter is building on the momentum seen in the second quarter rather than reverting to the weakness seen in the first quarter.”