Britain’s economy barely grew in July, rising by just 0.1 per cent from June, the weakest expansion since January when the country went back into strict Covid-19 lockdown rules, official data showed on Friday.
Economists polled by Reuters had mostly expected month-on-month growth of 0.6 per cent in gross domestic product.
Britain saw a sharp increase in Covid-19 cases in July as the Delta variant of the coronavirus took hold, leading to hundreds of thousands of workers being ordered to stay at home under self-isolation rules which have been relaxed.
The Office for National Statistics said some businesses had complained of staff being unable to come to work because they were required to self-isolate and a fall in construction output was linked to post-lockdown problems in global supply chains.
Britain’s dominant services sector was flat in July from June with output in consumer-facing services fell for the first time since January, driven mostly by a drop in the retail sector.
Industrial output grew by 1.2 per cent boosted by the return to production of an oil field but manufacturing was flat. Construction output fell by a monthly 1.6 per cent.
Previously released data had suggested the post-lockdown rebound in the economy lost momentum in July with retail sales and consumer borrowing both falling and businesses reporting a slowdown in growth, according to surveys of purchasing managers. – Reuters
