London, Jan 15, 2026 (AFP)
Britain's economy grew more than expected in November, official data showed Thursday, handing a boost to the Labour government after recent weak figures.
Gross domestic product increased 0.3 percent from the previous month, the Office for National Statistics said, beating an analyst consensus forecast for growth of 0.1 percent.
GDP had fallen 0.1 percent in October, the ONS confirmed, adding that September saw slight growth after it had initially reported a contraction for that month.
The September-November period was "led by growth in the services sector", said Liz McKeown, director of economic statistics at the ONS.
A Treasury spokesperson said in a separate statement there was "more to do" for boosting growth and "keeping inflation low and stable, tackling the cost of living and bringing our borrowing costs down".
The November growth figures, the first major official reading on the UK economy since the start of the year, came ahead of unemployment and inflation data due next week.
Following the November growth reading, analysts mostly agreed that the Bank of England would still cut interest rates this year, as UK inflation is expected to retreat 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 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 stock index and the British pound were little changed in early deals after the November GDP reading.

Sumber : AFP