Gross domestic product (GDP) in the UK has jumped by 0.2% in the three months to August, after showing no growth in July, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed.

Over the longer term, the ONS estimated that GDP increased by 0.8% in the same period compared to the three months to August 2023, while also jumping by 1% in August 2024 when compared with the same month last year.

Personal finance analyst at Bestinvest, Alice Haine, has said that the uplift in activity suggests the economy’s "strong start" in the first half of the year "won’t be abandoned altogether in the second half".

Haine added: "August’s 0.2% expansion is likely to be comforting for the new Government as it looks towards its first Budget on October 30 when Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to deliver a raft of ‘painful’ tax rises. The positive growth figure may even help to quell the Government’s doom-mongering about the state of the country’s finances, something that has had a detrimental effect on business and consumer confidence in recent weeks.”

In terms of output, all main sectors saw monthly growth in August, with production output increasing by 0.5% month-on-month, after dropping by 0.7% in July.

Three of the four main sectors in production saw output growth in August, with the largest contributor being manufacturing, which recorded growth of 1.1%.

Construction and services output also grew by 0.4% and 0.1% respectively in this period.

In the construction sector, five of the nine sub-sectors saw growth in August, while seven of the 14 sub-sectors in the services industry recorded negative contributions.

Head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, Danni Hewson, added: "All sectors were feeling spritely and with such a focus on planning reform and housebuilding targets it will be pleasing that both new housing work and private commercial work got a boost. We already saw the data that showed retailers enjoyed a resurgence of sales in August in spite of the riots which forced some businesses to shut up shop for several days."

Despite the 0.2% increase in GDP, Hewson believes that there is some trepidation among analysts, who believe that more needs to be done to ensure that this growth was not a one-off.

Hewson concluded: "The broader picture is of a country still trudging along, finding it hard to change gear. And there’s concern that August was a blip, and that September’s numbers will herald a return to the flatline that seems to have become the new normal.

"We know business confidence took a hit after Keir Starmer’s warnings that things would get worse before they get better and amid continuing concern about what the Chancellor’s first Budget has in store. News of additional private investment in energy infrastructure is massively welcome and the big push to deliver clean power by 2030 does create an opportunity for sustainable change."

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