LONDON, Nov 12 (Reuters) – Britain’s economy grew 0.7% in the third quarter of 2026, faster than its 0.5% growth in the second quarter of the year, official figures showed on Thursday.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 0.7% quarter-on-quarter growth for the period.
Britain’s economy has shown surprising resilience in the first half of 2026 after expanding by 0.6% in the first quarter.
While some economists expect slower growth in the final quarter of the year as higher energy prices and borrowing costs weigh on activity, the Bank of England last week upgraded its growth projection for 2026 alongside increasing interest rates.
The central bank now expects GDP to expand 1.6% this year, much stronger than the 1.2% forecast by the government’s Office for Budget Responsibility after finance minister John Healey’s October 28 budget which did not factor in some recent stronger GDP data and upward revisions to past numbers.
The central bank attributed some of the strength to spending on artificial intelligence and a small, temporary boost from Healey’s fiscal plan.
However, there have been signs of weakening consumer and business demand in the face of prolonged high energy prices and rising interest rates.
Official measures showed a fall in retail sales volumes in September and consumer confidence suffered its sharpest month-on-month fall since April 2020 before the budget.
(Reporting by Suban Abdulla; Editing by Kate Holton)
