UK mortgage approvals hit six-month low; pandemic recovery faster than expected – as it happened

Updated GDP figures show UK recovering faster from pandemic than Germany or France, but mortgage approvals have fallen

• UK economy makes stronger recovery from pandemic than first thought
• UK households face tax rise of 3,500 a year by next election, finds IFS

Victoria Scholar, head of investment at interactive investor, sums up this morning's UK economic report:

The UK economy grew by 0.2 percent in the second quarter following growth of 0.3% in the first quarter which was revised higher from 0.1%. Growth in the latest quarter was driven by a 1.2% increase in the production sector as falling input prices relieved pressure on manufacturers. Real households' disposable income grew by 1.2% in the quarter and the household savings ratio grew by 9.1%.

GDP is now estimated to be 1.8% above pre-coronavirus levels. Following recent revisions, the UK is no longer at the bottom of the leaderboard in terms of the recovery of advanced economies since covid. Now it is understood to have grown faster than Germany and France at 0.2% and 1.7% respectively. It has been a shock turn of events that the narrative around the UK's sluggish post covid recovery has been completely flipped on its head because of statistical revisions.