Monthly gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 2.1% in August 2020 as lockdown measures continued to ease, prior to the recent tightening of restrictions, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
This is the fourth consecutive monthly increase, following a record fall of 19.5% in April 2020; GDP has grown to 21.7% higher than its April 2020 low.
However, it remains 9.2% below the levels seen in February 2020, before the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
August 2020 represents a slowdown in growth, following the 6.4% seen in July, 9.1% in June and 2.7% in May.
GDP grew by 8.0% overall in the three months to August 2020.
Rupert Thompson, chief investment officer at Kingswood, said: “UK growth disappointed in August, with GDP rising only 2.1%, well short of expectations for a 4.6% increase."
He added: "These numbers show the recovery slowing significantly even before the recent re-imposition of local restrictions and lockdowns and can only increase the pressure on the government – both over any new restrictions and the need to increase support for the most affected sectors.”
