September has been recorded as the joint-warmest on record according to figures from the Met Office – going back to statistics from 1884.
In fact, September’s surprising temperature rise meant that the average daily temperature of 15.2°C put it on par with the record breaking figures recorded in 2006.
The warmer than anticipated weather conditions have yet to be factored into the latest economic data but may help support UK growth figures in coming months following a washout in July and early August.
With the UK economy facing more uncertainty following a sharp increase in rate hikes, the summer has typically been a driver of economic growth and tourism. Despite a rising cost of living crisis, the UK economy has proven to be resilient since the Bank of England started hiking the interest rate, which now stands at 5.25%.
September’s warmer weather may have also helped property sales despite a current downturn in the housing market across most UK regions. Following a slight fall in mortgage rates in recent weeks, there’s a glimmer of hope that the housing market may soon start to stabilise but it is too early to tell. As autumn gets underway, activity in the housing market tends to slow down after September, but since the pandemic, traditional models of data have been skewed and it will be well into 2024 before the picture becomes clearer of what’s happening at the national level.
For tourism and airlines, the summer has helped create an uptick in economic activity however rising petrol prices since August have caused growing concern that inflation could return, affecting food prices which have been coming down.
