MNI BRIEF: UK GDP Bounce In August As Services Sector Recovers

The UK economy bounced modestly in August, recovering some of the ground lost in the previous month, helped by a better than expected recovery in the services sector, data released by the Office for National Statistics on Thursday showed.

Monthly real GDP is estimated to have grown by 0.2% in August, following a fall of 0.6% in July 2023, revised down from a provisional 0.5% fall. Following recent revisions to the early pandemic years GDP, the economy now stands 2.1% larger than in Feb 2020 on a monthly basis.

“Our initial estimate suggests GDP grew a little in August, led by strong growth in services which was partially offset by falls in manufacturing and construction," ONS Director of Economic Statistics Darren Morgan said. The ONS said growth on between 0.21% and 0.49% would be needed in September for a flat GDP reading on the quarter, assuming no revisions to prior months.

The data is in line with the BOE's forecasts, perhaps very slightly weaker, but will offer little to any discussions ahead of the November policy meeting.