UK GDP grows 0.6% in Q1 2026, beating forecasts

The United Kingdom's economy grew by 0.6 percent in the first quarter of 2026, its strongest quarterly expansion in a year and above economists' expectations of 0.5 percent, the Office for National Statistics reported Thursday.

The data covered January to March, including the first full month after the onset of war in Iran late in the previous quarter. Gross domestic product rose 0.3 percent in March alone, exceeding forecasts of a slowdown or contraction. Revised figures showed no growth in January, down from an initial 0.1 percent estimate, and 0.4 percent growth in February, down from 0.5 percent. The fourth quarter of 2025 was revised upward to 0.2 percent from 0.1 percent.

Services output drove the expansion with 0.8 percent growth, led by wholesale trade, computer programming and advertising. Production increased 0.2 percent, while construction rose 0.4 percent overall, including a 1.5 percent monthly gain in March from new private housing and repairs that partially offset late-2025 weakness.

Liz McKeown, ONS director of economic statistics, said, "Growth picked up in the first quarter of the year, led by broad-based increases across the services sector. Within that,...