United Kingdom: Economic activity dips in August
GDP dropped 0.3% month-on-month in seasonally-adjusted terms in August (July: +0.1% mom), notably below market expectations of a flat reading. The figure was largely due to a deterioration in the services sector, driven by declines in the health, leisure and hospitality subsectors. In addition, the manufacturing sector contracted at a sharper rate.
On a rolling quarterly basis, GDP dropped 0.3% in June–August, contrasting May–July’s 0.1% expansion and marking the worst result since the three months up to March 2021.