covent garden, london
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The UK economy grew by 0.7% in the third quarter of this year, in line with expectations, led by service sector production.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast growth of 0.7% from the previous quarter.
The economy grew 1.9% year-on-year in the three months to September.
The figure marked a slight improvement from the previous quarter, when gross domestic product grew 0.5%. Economic growth in the first quarter was 0.6%.
The services sector expanded by 0.9%, according to data released Thursday morning by the Office for National Statistics. This was offset by a 0.1% increase in output in the manufacturing sector and a 0.7% contraction in the construction sector.
The economic growth rate in September was 0.2% compared to the previous month, exceeding expectations that GDP would remain flat. Showing an improvement from the previous month, revised figures showed the UK economy recorded zero growth in August.
British Finance Minister John Healy said in a statement that the country has shown “outstanding resilience” despite the US-Iran war taking a toll on global growth.
“The UK economy is growing at the fastest pace in nearly a decade, excluding the pandemic,” he said.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the third quarter’s growth “gives us hope for the future”.
of british pound Against the US dollar, it was flat, down 0.2%. against euro Thursday morning. yield british government bonds Little had changed.
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