0.7% is how much the UK economy grew in the third quarter of 2026, from July to September, according to the first estimate published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Thursday, 12 November 2026. That is the fastest quarterly growth this year, after 0.6% in the first quarter and 0.5% in the second.
Services drove the expansion with a rise of 0.9%, led by business-facing services, while production grew 0.1% and construction fell 0.7%. The ONS said information and communication has been the largest driver of growth across 2026, linking it in part to artificial intelligence and cloud computing work, although it noted that the exact impact is hard to measure.
Compared with the same quarter a year earlier, output was 1.9% higher. Real GDP per head also rose 0.7% in the quarter. On a monthly basis, the economy grew 0.2% in September after a flat August.
The quarterly figure matched the forecast of economists polled by Reuters, while the September number beat expectations of no change. Market reaction was muted: the pound slipped 0.2% against the dollar and government bond yields were little changed.
Looking ahead, the Bank of England expects growth to ease in the last three months of 2026 and through 2027. The bank raised interest rates last week for the first time in three years. The ONS will publish an updated estimate for the quarter on 22 December.
Source: Office for National Statistics, CNBC
