Britain's economy grew by 0.2% in September 2026, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Thursday, November 12, beating the 0.0% forecast listed on the ForexFactory economic calendar. August's growth was revised down to no growth (0.0%) from the 0.1% first reported, while July's 0.4% growth was left unrevised.

Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS)

The ONS's first quarterly estimate put growth in the third quarter (July to September) at 0.7%, up from 0.5% in the second quarter and in line with the 0.7% forecast for the preliminary quarterly reading. GDP was 1.9% higher than in the same quarter a year earlier, and real GDP per head also rose 0.7% in the quarter.

Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS)

+0.2%UK GDP, September (actual)
0.0%Forecast (ForexFactory)
0.0%August, revised down from +0.1%
+0.7%Q3 2026, first estimate
+0.5%Q2 2026

The September breakdown also came in stronger than expected: services output rose 0.2% against a 0.0% forecast, industrial output rose 0.3% against a forecast fall of 0.3%, and manufacturing output rose 0.7% against a forecast fall of 0.5%. Across the third quarter, services grew 0.9% and were the main driver of growth — business-facing services rose 1.0%, and information and communication rose 2.1%, led by computer programming and consultancy (up 4.4%), an industry the ONS said has been the largest driver of growth across 2026, with many of the firms reporting the biggest turnover increases involved in artificial intelligence and cloud computing. Production rose 0.1% in the quarter, while construction fell 0.7%.

Source: investingLive / ONS

On the spending side, household consumption rose 0.6% in the third quarter, government consumption rose 0.6%, gross fixed capital formation rose 1.7% and business investment rose 0.4%, the ONS said. The ONS cautions that these early GDP estimates are subject to revision as more data arrives.

Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS)

GDP — gross domestic product — is the broadest official measure of the size and growth of an economy. Traders typically watch a stronger-than-expected reading as a sign of economic momentum, which can mean they expect interest rates to stay higher for longer than a weak reading would suggest; that is a general market rule of thumb, not an observed reaction to this release.