Economic situation: British economy with strongest growth since 2022

London. The British economy grew more strongly in August than it has in almost four years. The gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 2.1 percent compared to the same month last year, as the ONS statistics office announced on Thursday in London. This is the strongest value since October 2022. If you exclude the recovery from the corona pandemic, it is even the highest value since December 2019.

Compared to the previous month, there was growth of 0.1 percent. However, economists surveyed by the Reuters news agency had expected a decline of 0.1 percent.

Growth in August was driven primarily by the manufacturing sector, whose production increased by 1.2 percent compared to the previous month and thus also exceeded forecasts. The services sector, which is important for the British economy, stagnated, but performed better than analysts expected. Construction production fell slightly.

The statisticians also pointed to the boom in artificial intelligence as a support for the economy. In the three months up to August, software development was the biggest growth driver. The robust economic data means tailwind for British Finance Minister John Healey, who plans to present his budget draft shortly.