UK GDP grew by 0.5% month-on-month in February with growth recorded across all sectors, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed.

The latest results follow no growth in January, after the ONS revised its data from a 0.1% shrink.

The ONS found that real GDP is estimated to have grown by 0.6% in the three months to February, compared with the three months to November 2024, which the ONS said was "mainly because of growth of 0.6% in the services sector".

Production sector output also rose by 0.7% in the three-month period, while construction showed no growth.

Chief sales and marketing officer at Phoebus Software, Richard Pike, said the increase in GDP was a "welcome surprise given the headwinds the UK economy has been facing".

He added: "With independent forecasts for 2025 GDP growth hovering around just 1.1%, and many analysts revising their predictions downward due to rising business taxes and softer global demand, this is an unexpected but positive development.

"While it’s too early to tell whether this growth marks the start of a more sustained recovery, it will certainly be interesting to see how this data impacts the Bank of England’s next interest rate decision."

The ONS estimated that output in the services sector grew by 0.3% month-on-month in February, after 0.1% growth in January. Across the 14 sub-sectors, nine saw increases in growth in the period.

Production output is estimated to have increased by 1.5% in February, following a fall of 0.5% in the previous month, while construction output is estimated to have grown by 0.4% month-on-month, after dropping by 0.3% in January.

However, chief investment officer at Quilter Investors, Marcus Brookes, said that the problem for the UK is its "very fragile economy" in the "volatile" geopolitical landscape.

He concluded: "President Trump may have ‘paused’ the reciprocal tariffs on other countries, but the new regime remains unchanged for the UK. If anything, the UK has lost a competitive edge having previously got off lightly in Trump’s announcement last week. This global economic uncertainty is going to do very little for consumer or business confidence in the UK and as such growth will continue to be lacklustre.

"The UK is in somewhat of a precarious position right now, caught in the crossfire of the constantly changing economic policy of the US. The government will need to think creatively and find some quick wins in order to sustain this positive reading and negate the economic impact tariffs will bring."

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