UK Economy Stagnates In July

(RTTNews) - The UK economy stagnated in July as expansions in services and construction sectors were offset by the decline in industrial production, the Office for National Statistics showed Friday.

Real gross domestic product showed no growth in July, as expected, after rising 0.4 percent in June.

The dominant services sector expanded 0.1 percent and construction grew 0.2 percent. Meanwhile, industrial production fell 0.9 percent.

On a yearly basis, GDP was up 1.4 percent in July, slightly slower than the economists' forecast of 1.5 percent.

In the three months to July, real GDP advanced 0.2 percent, following a 0.3 percent rise in the three months to June.

Another report from the ONS showed that the visible trade deficit remained broadly unchanged in July. The trade gap totaled GBP 23.68 billion compared to GBP 23.65 billion in June.

At the same time, the surplus on services dropped to GBP 15.28 billion from GBP 15.42 billion in the previous month. As a result, the total trade balance posted a deficit of GBP 8.4 billion versus a GBP 8.23 billion shortfall a month ago.