UK growth stalls as September slump ends third quarter weakly
The UK economy barely expanded in the third quarter of 2025, with September figures showing a monthly contraction in the final set of growth data before the budget on November 26.
Gross domestic product rose just 0.1% in the three months to September, the Office for National Statistics said on Thursday, slowing from 0.3% growth in the second quarter.
The figure came bellow the FXStreet-cited consensus of a 0.2% quarterly rise.
Year-on-year growth stood at 1.3%, below the FXStreet consensus of 1.4%.
In September alone, GDP fell 0.1% after flat output in August and a 0.1% fall in July.
The weak end to the quarter was dragged down by a sharp drop in industrial production, which fell 2.0% month-on-month and 2.5% from a year earlier.
Manufacturing output fell 1.7% on the month and 2.2% annually, largely due to a 29% collapse in motor vehicle production.
The ONS said the drop reflected the cyber incident that paused production at Jaguar Land Rover, while plant restructuring hit commercial vehicle output.
The services sector grew by 0.2% in September. Construction output edged up 0.1% on the quarter and 1.5% compared with a year earlier.
UK goods imports fell by £1.0 billion, or 2.0%, in September 2025, driven by declines in shipments from both EU and non-EU trading partners.
Goods exports dropped even more sharply, down £1.7 billion or 5.5%, with exports to the US tumbling £500 million to their lowest level since January 2022.
The UK’s total trade deficit in goods and services widened to £5.6 billion in the third quarter, as rising imports outpaced weakening exports.
The goods deficit grew to £59.6 billion, while the services surplus edged up to £54.0 billion.
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