UK Economy Expands Just 0.1 Percent in Q3

(MENAFN) Britain's economic expansion decelerated sharply in the third quarter, expanding just 0.1% and disappointing investor expectations that had anticipated double the growth rate, newly released government figures revealed Thursday.

Projections from financial markets had anticipated a 0.2% quarterly advance for the July-September timeframe. The sluggish performance represents a significant slowdown from the preceding quarter's 0.3% expansion.

When measured against the same period last year, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) documented annual GDP growth of only 1.1%—another figure falling below analyst consensus.

The services sector provided the economy's primary support, expanding 0.2%, while construction contributed a modest 0.1% increase. This brightness was overshadowed by the production industry's sharp 0.5% contraction.

September proved particularly weak, with the monthly economy declining 0.1% from August, though year-over-year comparisons showed a 1.1% gain.

Manufacturing emerged as a critical drag on performance. The ONS detailed the severity: "Most notably, production output fell by 2.0% in September 2025, mainly because of a 28.6% decline in the manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers, which detracted 0.17 percentage points from monthly GDP."

The automotive sector's dramatic collapse—a 28.6% plunge—proved particularly damaging to the nation's industrial output, underscoring vulnerabilities in Britain's core manufacturing base.

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