UK economy grows 0.7% in third quarter, fastest in two and a half years

LONDON, Nov 12 — UK real gross domestic product grew by 0.7% in the third quarter (July to September) of 2026, following growth of 0.5% in the second quarter, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on November 12. GDP was 1.9% higher than the same quarter a year ago, the fastest quarterly growth in two and a half years, in line with a Reuters poll.

Services were the main engine

In output terms, growth in the quarter came mainly from a 0.9% rise in services, with business-facing services up 1.0% and consumer-facing services up 0.5%; 11 of the 14 services subsectors contributed positively. Administrative and support services rose 4.1%, and information and communication rose 2.1%, with computer programming, consultancy and related activities up 4.4%. The ONS said information and communication has been the largest driver of GDP growth across 2026, with evidence that many of the businesses reporting the largest increases in turnover are involved in artificial intelligence and cloud computing, though the exact impact is difficult to quantify from its data. Production rose 0.1% while construction fell 0.7%.

Household spending and investment rose together

On the expenditure side, growth was driven mainly by household consumption and gross fixed capital formation: household final consumption rose 0.6% in real terms, up 1.8% year on year; government consumption rose 0.6%; gross fixed capital formation rose 1.7%, with business investment up 0.4%, 3.0% higher than a year earlier. Real GDP per head rose 0.7% on the quarter and 1.7% year on year; nominal GDP rose 1.4% on the quarter and 4.3% year on year.

Early estimate may be revised

Monthly figures published alongside the release showed GDP grew 0.2% in September, after no growth in August — revised down from 0.1% — and unrevised growth of 0.4% in July. The ONS cautioned that early estimates are subject to revision.

(Sources: Office for National Statistics; Reuters. Early estimates are subject to revision. Photo: file image.)