SFFS Economic Review_July 18Warm weather and wedding boost growth.

The UK economy picked up some momentum during the three months to May as the hot weather and royal wedding sparked a modest rebound from the lacklustre performance recorded in the early part of the year. Last month saw a new monthly reading of gross domestic product (GDP) launched by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This showed that the UK economy grew by 0.3% in May, compared to 0.2% in April and zero growth in March, while the average growth rate across the three months to the end of May was 0.2%. Commenting on the figures, Rob Kent-Smith, Head of National Accounts at ONS, said: “The first of our new rolling estimates of GDP shows a mixed picture of the UK economy with modest growth driven by the services sector, partly offset by falling construction and industrial output. Services, in particular, grew robustly in May, with retailers enjoying a double boost from the warm weather and the royal wedding.”