United Kingdom: Economic growth slows in the second quarter of 2026
GDP reading: The United Kingdom’s GDP increased 0.4% in seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter terms in Q2, following a 0.6% expansion in the prior quarter and in line with market expectations. This matched the pattern seen in recent years of a Q2 slowdown following a bumper Q1 reading, suggesting issues with seasonal adjustment of data.
Private and government spending drive slowdown: Compared with the prior quarter’s data, readings in Q2 softened for private consumption (+0.3% on a seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis vs +0.6% in Q1), government consumption (-0.3% vs +1.3% in Q1) and imports of goods and services (+0.5% vs +1.4% in Q1). In contrast, readings picked up for fixed investment (+1.2% vs +0.4% in Q1) and exports of goods and services (+0.5% vs +0.2% in Q1).
On a year-on-year basis, GDP grew 1.2% in Q2, following a 0.9% expansion in the prior quarter.