| Consensus | Consensus Range | Actual | Previous | Revised | |
| Month over Month | -0.1% | -0.3% to 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.4% | |
| 3-Months over 3-Months | 0.5% | 0.2% to 0.5% | 0.7% | 0.4% | 0.5% |
Highlights
The UK economy maintained its expansion in August 2026, although emerging sectoral imbalances suggest that the recovery remains uneven. Real GDP expanded by 0.7 percent in the three months to August, accelerating from 0.5 percent in both July and June, signalling improving economic momentum despite persistent structural weaknesses.
The services sector remained the principal growth engine, expanding by 0.9 percent, compared with 0.7 percent previously. Conversely, production contracted by 0.2 percent, although this represented an improvement from July’s 0.7 percent decline. Construction performance deteriorated further, contracting by 1.0 percent, reflecting continued weakness in sectoral activity.
However, monthly GDP growth slowed sharply to 0.1 percent in August from 0.4 percent in July, suggesting a moderation in near-term economic momentum. Growth was driven entirely by a 0.8 percent rebound in production, while services stagnated and construction declined by 0.2 percent.
In summary, the figures portray an economy experiencing modest but fragile expansion, with quarterly growth increasingly dependent on services and monthly performance supported by industrial recovery. These latest updates take the RPI and RPI-P to 31, meaning that economic activities continue to outpace market expectations in the UK.
Market Consensus Before Announcement
Monthly GDP expected to contract by 0.1 percent in August.
Definition
Gross domestic product (GDP) is the broadest measure of aggregate economic activity and encompasses every sector of the economy.
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.