UK economy beats forecasts again to grow 0.1% in August

​Britain's economy grew unexpectedly in ​August, official data showed ‌on ​Thursday, extending a run of resilient data that will encourage finance minister John Healey as ‌he prepares his budget against a tough financial backdrop. The Office for National Statistics reported a 0.1% increase in gross domestic product ‌in August, stronger than the consensus forecast in a Reuters ‌poll of economists for a 0.1% drop.

The annual growth rate picked up to 2.1%, the strongest reading since October 2022 when output was ⁠bouncing ​back from the COVID-19 ⁠pandemic. Excluding that period, it was the strongest reading since December 2019. Adding ⁠to signs that the artificial intelligence boom is boosting Britain's economy, the ​ONS said computer programming was the largest contributor to growth ⁠in the three months to August.

But it also pointed to broad-based growth ⁠over ​the past year across the services sector that dominates Britain's economy. For August alone, growth was driven by the manufacturing sector ⁠which showed a 1.2% month-on-month surge, defying forecasts for a small ⁠drop in ⁠output.

The services sector was flat, but still beat forecasts for a 0.1% dip, while construction output ‌fell ‌slightly.