UK GDP falls 0.5% in July compared to June – The Economy

The United Kingdom’s gross domestic product (GDP) fell 0.5% in July from the previous month, mainly due to the services sector, compared with 0.5% growth in June, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday. (ONS).

The ONS reported a month-on-month decline in July in all sectors except the services sector.

Despite this monthly drop, the UK’s GDP grew by 0.2% in the three months between May and July, with key sectors picking up, providing more promising signs of recovery. Global services output fell 0.5% in July 2023, compared with 0.2% growth in June, while consumer-oriented services did not expand in July after growing 0.5% in the previous month.

According to the ONS, industrial production fell 0.7% after a 1.8% increase in June, and the construction sector fell 0.5% in July, after increasing 1.6% in the previous month.

ONS director of economic statistics, Darren Morgan, said that although GDP shrank in July, “the overall picture looks very positive: the economy has grown in the services, manufacturing and construction sectors over the past three months”. Strikes in sectors such as health and education negatively affected the economy that month, while construction and retail trade slowed “due to bad weather,” Morgan said.

During the coronation of Charles III, the manufacturing sector also collapsed, after an earlier recovery “due to the effect of the extra holiday in May”.