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The UK economy expanded at a faster pace than expected in the second quarter, numbers on Thursday showed, but growth slowed from the start of the year as some activity had been ‘brought forward’ in fear of US tariffs. The Office for National Statistics said UK gross domestic product rose 0.3% in the second quarter from the first, slowing from a 0.7% expansion in the first three months of the year. ‘Some activity was brought forward to February and March ahead of changes to stamp duty in April and announced US tariff changes,’ the ONS explained. According to market consensus cited by FXStreet, growth of 0.1% on-quarter had been expected for the three months to June. On-year, the UK economy expanded 1.2% in the second quarter. On-month, the UK economy rounded off the second quarter with a 0.4% expansion in June, following falls of 0.1% in each of May and April. ‘In output terms, growth in the latest quarter was driven by increases of 0.4% in services and 1.2% in construction; while the production sector fell by 0.3%,’ the ONS said. In June alone, services output rise 0.3% on-month, following a 0.1% rise in May from April. ‘Production output grew by 0.7% in June 2025, following a fall of 1.3% in May 2025,’ the ONS added. ‘Construction output grew by 0.3% in June 2025, following a fall of 0.5% in May 2025.’ Separate data on Thursday showed the UK trade deficit worsened in June. The trade gap widened to £5.02 billion in June, from £4.55 billion in May. Exports fell 2.6% on-month to £74.76 billion, while imports fell at a slower pace of 1.9% to £79.78 billion. Sterling rose to $1.3579 after the batch of data from $1.3569 beforehand. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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