The UK economy has posted its strongest quarterly growth in a year during the first three months of 2026, defying expectations with a surprise uptick in activity following the outbreak of the Iran war, official figures reveal.
GDP Growth Exceeds Forecasts
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expanded by 0.6% between January and March, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This figure surpassed the 0.5% growth anticipated by most economists and represents the highest quarterly rate since the first quarter of 2025.
In March alone, GDP rose by 0.3%, catching economists off guard as they had predicted a slowdown due to the onset of the conflict in the Middle East.
Services Sector Leads the Way
Liz McKeown, ONS Director of Economic Statistics, commented: "Growth picked up in the first quarter of the year, led by broad-based increases across the services sector. Within that, wholesale, computer programming, and advertising performed particularly well."
She added: "Production also grew slightly, while construction returned to growth, though only partly reversing weakness at the end of last year."
The quarterly expansion marks a significant turnaround from the previous period and provides a boost to the government's economic narrative amid challenging global circumstances.
