Compared with July, overall daily newspaper circulation was up 0.45% to 12,103,114 copies, confounding expectations that sales would be down in the traditionally quiet height of summer.
The figures provide the last snapshot before a wave of 800,000 free newspapers broke over London around the end of August, in the form of Associated's London Lite and News International's thelondonpaper.
The paper many predict will suffer, the Evening Standard, rallied from its low July figure of 300,993 with a 4.05% rise to 313,181. However, its September figure, with its new higher 50p cover price, will be the one to see if its days are numbered.
Elsewhere the market was steady, with the tiniest of falls in the mid market. The Standard's national stablemate the Daily Mail was down just 0.33% to 2,381,461 and the Daily Express was down 0.44% to 829,504.
The quality market was up, despite a 2.1% fall for The Guardian to 362,844, making it the biggest loser in the market, and a 1.7% drop for the Financial Times to 416,367.
It was a good month for The Times, which was up 1.13% to 675,030 against The Daily Telegraph's 0.1% rise to 898,289. Good news also for The Independent, it was up 1.63% to 254,854.
The tabloids also had a comfortable August and were overall up 0.98% to 6,148,681.
The Sun climbed 0.51% to 3,223,841, the Daily Mirror rose 0.17% to 1,662,930, but the Daily Star outdid both with a 3.96% jump to 828,728.
In the Sunday sector, the middle market titles continued their modest growth, sparking possibility of a resurgence in the autumn.
The Sunday Express climbed 3.74% to 826,730, comparable with The Mail on Sunday, which rose 2.89% to 2,285,632, ensuring it retains its place as the country's second-placed Sunday title.
The People climbed a healthy 2.25% to 859,808, with the News of The World edging up 1.61% to 3,538,886, retaining its position of having UK's highest Sunday circulation.
However, the Sunday Mirror did not fare as well, sliding 2.56% to 1,463,970.
Like its daily sister title, the best performer in the tabloid market was the Daily Star Sunday, which was perhaps benefiting from its extensive 'Big Brother' coverage, climbing 4.43% to 421,708.
In the quality market, The Observer fell 3.91% to 439,892, making it the only significant faller during the month.
The strongest performance in the quality Sunday market was put in by The Sunday Times, rising by 3.51% to 1,354,489.
The Sunday Telegraph was down marginally by 0.36% to 653,664 and the Independent on Sunday was up by 0.96% to 218,240.
The Telegraph, which is about to relaunch its weekend supplements, will be optimistic it can improve on this month's rise, and the prospect of another round of giveaways and promotions in the Sunday market could ensure the sector remains buoyant as it heads into the autumn.
North of the border, Scotland on Sunday rose a dramatic 18.15% to 79,221, marking a significant turnaround from its 6.54% slide last month.
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