UK economy grew by 0.6% at the start of 2026, ONS confirms
Services led the quarter with 0.8% growth, while real household disposable income fell 0.8% and the saving ratio slipped to 8.9%, the ONS said.
- On Tuesday, The ONS confirmed UK GDP grew by an unrevised 0.6% in the first quarter of 2026, establishing the economic baseline for the start of this year.
- Liz McKeown, director of economic statistics at The ONS, noted services were the main driver of growth, expanding 0.8%, while production and construction both rose 0.2%.
- Real household disposable income fell 0.8% as the household saving ratio dropped to 8.9% in the first quarter, down from 9.6% in late 2025.
- Monthly data signalled a hit from the Middle East conflict, with the economy contracting 0.1% in April, down from 0.3% growth in March.
- The Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development downgraded GDP forecasts for this year due to war pressures, while The ONS revised 2025 growth down to 1.3% from 1.4%.
21 Articles
21 Articles
Services sector leads UK economic growth despite household squeeze
Britain’s economy grew robustly in the first quarter of 2026, official data confirmed this week, but households were squeezed even before the worst effects of the US-Iran conflict started to feed through. Economic output grew by 0.6 per cent in the first three months of the year, unchanged from an initial estimate by the Office for National Statistics. “Services were the main driver of growth in the latest quarter, with strengths in computer …
UK Economy Grew by 0.6 Percent in 1st Quarter of 2026
The UK economy grew in the first quarter of this year, official data confirmed on June 30. Economic output was up by 0.6 percent over the first three months of 2026, matching the initial estimate by the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) in its gross domestic product quarterly national accounts. “Services were the main driver of growth in the latest quarter, with strengths in computer programming, wholesale and advertising only offset by …
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