"Today’s third official estimate of Q2 GDP was a positive surprise indicating that the UK economy has grown more than expected"
The ONS said that Q2 2016 has "shown continued strength" with GDP growing by 2.1% between Quarter 2 2015 and Quarter 2 2016.
The rise was attributed to the production and services industries which both showed an increase compared with Q1.
The ONS said that "there is very little anecdotal evidence at present to suggest that the referendum has had an impact on GDP in Quarter 2 2016".
Jonathan Chitty, investment analyst at Brown Shipley, said: “Today’s third official estimate of Q2 GDP was a positive surprise indicating that the UK economy has grown more than expected, though it would be prudent to remember that this reading only accounts for one week’s worth of post-Brexit trading.
The first estimate for GDP growth in the third quarter, expected on the 27th of October, will provide a more meaningful insight in to how the UK economy is performing post-Brexit. However, until ‘Article 50’ is invoked and we have a clearer picture of what the UK’s relationship with the EU will look like it is unlikely that the full impact of Brexit will be reflected in economic output data.”
