THE UK economy grew more than expected in November, official data showed on Thursday, following a contraction in the previous month.
Gross domestic product rose 0.3 per cent from October, according to the Office for National Statistics. The figure was higher than the analyst consensus forecast of 0.1 per cent growth.
The ONS confirmed that GDP had fallen 0.1 per cent in October. It also said September recorded slight growth after it had initially reported a contraction for that month.
Growth during the September to November period was “led by growth in the services sector”, Liz McKeown, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said.
A Treasury spokesperson said in a separate statement there was “more to do” to boost growth and to focus on “keeping inflation low and stable, tackling the cost of living and bringing our borrowing costs down”.
The November data marks the first major official reading on the UK economy since the start of the year and comes ahead of unemployment and inflation figures due next week.
Following the GDP release, analysts largely said the Bank of England is still expected to cut interest rates this year, with inflation forecast to ease further in the coming months.
“The economy should expand at a steady pace through 2026 as inflation eases and real incomes rise modestly,” Ben Jones, lead economist at the business lobby group CBI, said on Thursday.
“However, business investment is likely to remain fairly subdued amid soft demand conditions, high labour and energy costs and supply-side bottlenecks,” he said.
London’s benchmark FTSE 100 and the British pound were little changed in early trading following the November GDP figures.
