UK economy grows by 0.2% in Q2

The UK economy has grown faster than expected in the three months to June, new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show. 

According to the ONS, GDP rose by 0.2% in the second quarter of the year, up from a growth of 0.1% in the first quarter. 

In June alone, GDP rose by 0.5%, following an unrevised fall of 0.1% in May and growth of 0.2% in April.

Over the period, the services sector grew by 0.1%, driven by increases in information and communication, accommodation and food service activities.

Output from accommodation and food services grew by 1.5% in June, following a fall of 1.5% in May, and the largest contributor was food and beverage services, which grew by 1.4%. The ONS said there was “anecdotal evidence” from its monthly business survey that suggested good weather and an increase in live events boosted turnover for these businesses in June.

Elsewhere, output in consumer-facing services grew by 0.5% in June, after a fall of 0.2% in May. Looking at the broader picture, the ONS said consumer-facing services grew by 0.8% in the three months to June 2023.

The largest contribution to the growth in consumer-facing services in June came from wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, which grew by 3.9% in June following a fall of 1.9% in May.

The next largest contribution came from food and beverage services, which grew 1.4% in June, with some businesses noting, on monthly business survey returns, that good weather was responsible for increased turnover.

According to the ONS, there was also “strong growth” in household and government consumption, which was partially offset by a fall in international trade flows in the second quarter.

In addition, production output grew 0.7% in the three months to June 2023, compared with the three months to March 2023, with growth of 1.6% in manufacturing being the largest positive contributor to growth in production output in that period.

Darren Morgan, ONS director of economic statistics, said: ““The economy bounced back from the effects of May’s extra bank holiday to record strong growth in June. Manufacturing saw a particularly strong month with both cars and the often-erratic pharmaceutical industry seeing particularly buoyant growth.

“Services also had a strong month with publishing and car sales and legal services all doing well, though this was partially offset by falls in health, which was hit by further strike action. Construction also grew strongly, as did pubs and restaurants, with both aided by the hot weather.”

He added: “Across the quarter as a whole, GDP grew a little with widespread growth across manufacturing – aided by falling raw material prices – computer programming and hospitality.”