Britain’s economy grew for a third month running in July as pubs and restaurants reopened, according to the latest data from the Office of National Statistics.
UK GDP rose by 6.6% in July, though this was less than the 8.7% growth recorded in June.
The ONS also noted that Britain’s economy has still only recovered half of the output lost due to coronavirus and is 11.7% smaller than in February.
Economists at ING said the improvement was expected with the easing of lockdown restrictions.
They noted: "The increase ‘really just reflects the reopening of a wider number of sectors, including of course the food and accommodation sectors.
“This ‘mechanical rebound’ process should see a further increase in August, perhaps in the region of 3%, and a subsequent bounce in September to reflect the reopening of education venues All in, we think the third quarter will register around 17% growth.”
Howard Archer, at E&Y’s Item Club said: “It was particularly encouraging to see all output sectors of the economy make strong contributions to growth in July.
“The dominant services sector saw output expand 6.1% month-on-month in July after growth of 7.7% in June. The three-month/three-month drop in services output slowed to 8.1% in July from 19.9% in June.
Commentators though were cautious about the longer-term prospects for Britain’s economy with unemployment set to rise, Brexit uncertainty returning and growing concern over a second wave of coronavirus infections.