By Andy Bruce
Oct 15 (Reuters) – 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.
(Reporting by Andy Bruce; editing by William Schomberg)
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