UK economy grows 0.6% in first quarter as services sector leads

(Alliance News) - The UK economy grew strongly in the first quarter of 2026, driven by the services sector, according to data from the Office for National Statistics on Thursday.

UK gross domestic product rose 0.6% in the three months to March, accelerating from revised growth of 0.2% in the fourth quarter of 2025 and in line with the FXStreet-cited consensus.

On an annual basis, GDP growth in 2025 was unrevised at 1.4%, following revised growth of 1.0% in 2024.

The ONS said all three main sectors contributed to quarterly growth in the first quarter, with services output rising 0.8%, production output increasing 0.2% and construction output climbing 0.4%.

Monthly GDP rose 0.3% in March, slowing from growth of 0.4% in February but beating the FXStreet-consensus of a 0.3% drop.

Services output increased 0.3% month-on-month in March and was up 0.8% on a three-month-on-three-month basis.

Industrial production fell 0.2% in March from February and was flat on-year.

Real GDP per head rose 0.6% in the first quarter and was up 0.9% from the same quarter a year earlier.

The ONS noted that revisions to quarterly GDP growth between the first quarter of 2024 and fourth quarter of 2025 were limited to plus or minus 0.1 percentage point.

Trade data released alongside the GDP figures showed the UK total trade balance stood at a deficit of GBP9.66 billion in March, while the visible trade balance deficit widened to GBP27.22 billion. The non-EU trade deficit was GBP15.20 billion.

By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News reporter

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