| Consensus | Actual | Previous | Revised | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month over Month | -0.1% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.1% |
| 3-Months over 3-Months | 0.6% | 0.0% | 0.3% |
Highlights
The economy held up much better than expected in September. A 0.2 percent monthly increase in GDP was well above the market consensus and although August's gain was trimmed a tick to 0.1 percent, large enough to boost annual growth from 0.5 percent to 1.3 percent. It also meant that total output last quarter was unchanged from its level in the second quarter.
September's monthly gain was led by a 0.2 percent increase in services within which arts, entertainment and recreation grew 3.0 percent and human health and social work activities 1.0 percent. However, output in consumer-facing services declined 0.2 percent after a 0.7 percent drop in August. Industrial production was only flat although manufacturing output edged up 0.1 percent. Elsewhere, construction rose 0.4 percent.
Today's updates put the UK RPI to 17 and the RPI-P to 12. Both readings show recent overall economic activity outperforming market expectations but will not shake the market's belief that Bank Rate has topped out at 5.25 percent. Stagnation in GDP last quarter was in line with the BoE's expectation and should help to ease the path for inflation to return back to target.
September's monthly gain was led by a 0.2 percent increase in services within which arts, entertainment and recreation grew 3.0 percent and human health and social work activities 1.0 percent. However, output in consumer-facing services declined 0.2 percent after a 0.7 percent drop in August. Industrial production was only flat although manufacturing output edged up 0.1 percent. Elsewhere, construction rose 0.4 percent.
Today's updates put the UK RPI to 17 and the RPI-P to 12. Both readings show recent overall economic activity outperforming market expectations but will not shake the market's belief that Bank Rate has topped out at 5.25 percent. Stagnation in GDP last quarter was in line with the BoE's expectation and should help to ease the path for inflation to return back to target.
Market Consensus Before Announcement
Total output is seen slipping a monthly 0.1 percent in September, making for 0.6 third quarter growth.
Definition
Gross domestic product (GDP) is the broadest measure of aggregate economic activity and encompasses every sector of the economy. The monthly report is based on output data only as the income and expenditure series are not available.
Description
GDP covers all aspects of economic activity. Investors need to closely track the economy because it usually dictates how investments will perform. Stock market investors like to see healthy economic growth because robust business activity translates to higher corporate profits. GDP contains a treasure-trove of information which not only paints an image of the overall economy, but tells investors about important trends within the big picture. However, the monthly report is quite limited and only provides data on the main output sectors. More detailed information is available in the quarterly reports.
