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The UK economy grew by 0.4% in the second quarter of 2026, in line with economists’ expectations, but with faster growth than expected in June as the football World Cup and warmer weather helped retailers and leisure sectors.
It follows growth of 0.6% in the first quarter, representing a fairly strong start to the year – at least in the context of recent history.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that growth in the latest quarter was mainly caused by an increase of 0.5% in the services sector, the construction sector increased by 0.3%, while production output showed no growth.
The football World Cup was cited anecdotally by some businesses as a contributor to growth in June. GDP grew by 0.3% during June, after showing no growth in May. The ONS said:
double quotation markThe FIFA Football World Cup, which started on 11 June 2026, was cited as a reason for an increase in turnover in June 2026 by businesses in industries such as the manufacture of alcohol, wholesale, food and beverage serving activities, publishing activities, television production and advertising.
And the hot weather – the start of a long, hot summer in the UK and Europe – helped some businesses, while hindering others such as builders, as well as schools.
double quotation markSome positive impacts were cited by some businesses across a range of manufacturing industries, retail, accommodation, and amusement and recreation activities. On the reverse, the warm weather was also cited as having a negative impact in terms of construction activities and also in education where schools were closed because of the heatwave.
10am BST: Eurozone industrial production (June; previous: -0.2%; consensus: -0.1%)
1:30pm BST: US producer price index inflation (July; prev.: -0.3%; cons.: 0.2%)
