The UK economy stagnated in July, underlining the challenge the government faces in boosting growth and repairing the public finances in its high-stakes November Budget.
A slump in manufacturing offset increases in the services and construction sectors in July, the Office for National Statistics said on Friday, in a figure that was in line with economists’ expectations. It followed a 0.4 per cent expansion in June.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has made growth her “number one mission”, but the economy has lost momentum in recent months. As a result of July’s stagnation, growth slowed to 0.2 per cent in the three months to July compared with 0.3 per cent in the three months to June.