· The Office of National Statistics (ONS) reported that real GDP in the United Kingdom in the second quarter of this year was unchanged from the first quarter.   Consumption expenditures were little changed as household consumption expenditures were down slightly by 0.06% and government consumption expenditures up slightly by 0.4%.  A substantial improvement in the balance of trade in goods and services and a increase in inventories were offset by an equally large decline in gross fixed capital formation as a result of the declines in investments in dwellings and in business and government capital outlays.  The first chart shows the quarter-to-quarter and the year-to-year changes in GDP.

· In terms of business activity, the production industries declined 0.8% in the second quarter, following a 0.2% decline in the first quarter.  Construction was down 1.1%.  The service industries managed a slight increase of 0.2%.  The second chart shows the changes in the production and the services areas.