No post-Brexit shock to British economy in July: ONS

Figures released Friday showed that Britain's service sector grew strongly in the first full month after the June 23 referendum decision to quit the European Union. Commenting on the new figures, Darren Morgan, head of GDP at the Office for National Statistics (ONS), said the fresh data supports the view that there has been no sign of an immediate post-Brexit shock to the British economy. Morgan added the full picture continues to emerge.

Morgan said: "Despite some very weak indicators appearing in the immediate aftermath of the referendum, estimates gathered by ONS from more than 23,000 firms now suggest that the services sector -- which accounts for three quarters of the economy -- in fact grew strongly in July."

"ONS is also developing new sources of data so as to provide a faster and more complete picture of the economy as the Brexit story unfolds over the longer term."

ONS also said the services sector was estimated to have increased by 2.9 percent in July 2016 compared with July 2015.

All four sectors of the services industry reported increases in July. The components of the services industries cover distribution, hotels and restaurants, transport, storage and communication, business services and finance, as well as government and other services.

An ONS spokesman said : "The services industries, accounting for 78.8 percent of British economy, are the largest industrial grouping in the output approach to measuring gross domestic product." Endit