EconomyUnited Kingdom

UK economy grows 0.7% in third quarter despite high energy prices

UK output rose 0.7% in the third quarter, its quickest pace in more than two years. Consumers and businesses held up despite higher oil and gas prices, which slowed growth.

Illustration: A busy British high street at dusk, with plain unmarked shop fronts glowing warm and an unbranded gas station on the corner where a few small figures fill cars.
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Britain's economy expanded 0.7% over the third quarter, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. The figure matched what City analysts had expected. It was the fastest pace in more than two years.

Businesses and consumers kept spending as artificial intelligence was rolled out, which helped the economy cope with an energy shock linked to the Iran war.

The ONS said petrol, diesel and natural gas prices jumped after the conflict in the Middle East flared up again, and those costs restricted growth in the three months to the end of September. GDP, the total value of goods and services produced, rose 0.2% in September alone compared with August.

Illustration: Seen from above, an unbranded gas station forecourt and a row of terraced houses with gas meters on their walls, under a cold autumn evening sky, with a small anonymous figure at a pump.
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The figures gave a boost to Chancellor John Healey. The growth numbers suggest households and companies kept going despite higher energy bills.

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