For a limited time, enjoy 30% off an annual digital subscription. Your support protects our vital independence and keeps us free of a paywall. To say thank you, we'll unlock unlimited reading in our quality news app and ad-free reading on all your devices. | | | | UK GDP rose by 0.2% in July, the latest data from the Office for National Statistics shows, a smaller increase than expected.
That's a welcome return to growth, after the economy shrank by 0.6% in June. But it could only be a temporary respite, with the cost of living crunch hitting households and businesses this autumn and winter.
Britain's services sector led the recovery in July, growing by 0.4%The information and communication sector grew by 1.5% and was the largest contributor to the services growth in July.
Manufacturing only expanded by 0.1% in July.
And the wider production sector actually contracted again – by 0.3% after a fall of 0.9% in June 2022, due to a fall in output in the electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply.
The ONS says people may have cut back on electricity use following the surge in prices this year: "According to anecdotal evidence from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), demand for electricity was 2.3% lower than seen in July 2021 (that may have been influenced by the higher than usual temperatures).
"Anecdotal evidence suggests that there may be some signs of changes in consumer behaviour and lower demand in response to increased prices. This is further shown in our recent Consumer price inflation, UK: July 2022 bulletin where electricity prices rose by 54% in the 12 months to July 2022."
The UK's construction sector shrank again in July too – wth a 0.8% drop in output, after a 1.4% in June 2022.
This was due to a drop in repair and maintenance work.
The broader picture is that Britain's economy failed to grow over the last quarter, weighed down by economic headwinds.
GDP was flat in the three months to July compared with the previous three months, the ONS reports.
The agenda • 7am BST: UK GDP report for July • 7am BST: UK balance of trade for July • 9am BST: European Central Bank survey of monetary analysts • 11am BST: NIESR's estimate of UK GDP in August • 1pm BST: India's inflation and industrial production data
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