UK economy contracts 0.3% in August

ANKARA

The British economy shrank 0.3% in August due to a continued fall in production output, according to official data released on Wednesday.

The drop follows July’s downwardly revised growth of 0.1%.

The UK’s monthly GDP is “now estimated to be at the same level as its pre-coronavirus levels,” the Office of National Statistics (ONS) said in a report.

Production fell by 1.8% in August due to a slump in manufacturing, while output in consumer-facing services was also down 1.8%.

Human health and social work activities, and arts, entertainment and recreation activities fell by 1.3% and 5.0%, respectively, ONS data showed.

On an annual basis, the UK economy grew 2% in August.

“GDP fell by 0.3% in the three months to August 2022 compared with the previous three months to May 2022, with a 1.5% fall in production, 0.1% fall in services and flat growth in construction,” read the ONS report.