(The Turkish Post) – The UK economy grew by 0.1% in August from July, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Oct. 15, as a rise in factory output offset flat services. Economists polled before the release had expected a 0.1% contraction.
The figures show the UK economy kept expanding through the summer after growth of 0.4% in both June and July. Separate ONS data showed the monthly deficit in trade in goods narrowed slightly in August, as imports fell faster than exports.
Factories lift UK economy in August
Production output rose 0.8% in August, the ONS said. Manufacturing grew 1.2% and mining and quarrying 1.4%, while water supply, sewerage and waste management fell 1.2%.
Services, the largest part of the UK economy, showed no growth over the month. Only four of the 14 services subsectors expanded.
Construction output fell 0.2%, its fourth consecutive monthly decline. New work dropped 0.7%, while repair and maintenance rose 0.4%.
The ONS left its estimate for July unrevised at 0.4% and revised June up to 0.4% from 0.3%.
GDP up 0.7% over three months
In the three months to August, gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.7% compared with the three months to May. It was the eighth consecutive rise on that measure, according to the ONS.
Services drove the three-month growth, rising 0.9%. Ten of the 14 services subsectors grew, led by professional, scientific and technical activities, information and communication, and administrative and support services, each of which rose around 3%.
Production fell 0.2% over the three months and construction dropped 1.0%. Private housing new work fell 3.2%, the largest drag on new construction.
Compared with August 2025, the UK economy was 2.1% larger. Economists had expected annual growth of 1.7%. Computer programming and consultancy was one of the largest contributors to annual growth, adding 0.32 percentage points, the ONS said.
Goods trade deficit narrows in August
The UK’s deficit in trade in goods, excluding precious metals, narrowed by £0.2 billion to £19.8 billion in August, the ONS said in its monthly trade release.
Imports of goods fell £1.3 billion, or 2.3%, while exports of goods fell £1.1 billion, or 3.1%. Imports from countries outside the European Union dropped £1.7 billion, mainly because of lower imports of machinery and transport equipment, including aircraft from the United States and ships from China. Imports from the EU rose £0.5 billion.
Exports to the EU fell £1.2 billion, or 7.3%, partly because of lower crude oil sales to Germany, Poland and Italy. Exports to non-EU countries rose £0.2 billion, helped by higher sales of inorganic chemicals to the United States.
Three-month trade deficit widens
Over the three months to August, the picture was weaker. The trade in goods deficit widened by £2.5 billion to £59.1 billion compared with the three months to May, the ONS said.
The surplus in trade in services widened by £1.1 billion to £51.1 billion. The total goods and services trade deficit widened by £1.4 billion to £8.0 billion, as imports rose by £2.7 billion and exports by £1.3 billion.
The ONS excludes non-monetary gold and other precious metals from its headline trade figures because movements in them can be large and volatile.
Pound edges higher after the data
The pound rose about 0.4% against the U.S. dollar after the release, and yields on UK government bonds fell.
The August figures also include revisions to data from January 1997 to June 2026, in line with the quarterly national accounts published on Sept. 30 and the annual Blue Book. The ONS will publish its first estimate of GDP for the July to September quarter in November.
