| Consensus | Consensus Range | Actual | Previous | Revised | |
| Month over Month | -0.1% | -0.2% to 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 0.4% |
| 3-Months over 3-Months | 0.6% | 0.5% |
Highlights
The UK economy demonstrated improving momentum in March 2026, with monthly GDP expanding by 0.3 percent, following a revised growth of 0.4 percent in February. This suggests that economic activity is gradually stabilising after a subdued start to the year. Growth was primarily supported by the services and construction sectors, which increased by 0.3 percent and 1.5 percent respectively. The sharp rebound in construction is particularly significant, as it may reflect recovering investment activity and easing constraints within the sector. However, a 0.2 percent contraction in production output continues to signal underlying fragilities within manufacturing and industrial activity.
On a broader quarterly basis, real GDP grew by 0.6 percent in the three months to March 2026, representing a modest acceleration from previous periods. The services sector remained the principal engine of growth, expanding by 0.8 percent, reinforcing its central role in sustaining UK economic resilience. Construction output also returned to positive territory after five consecutive quarterly declines, indicating a possible turning point for the sector.
Overall, the report presents cautious optimism for the UK economy. Nevertheless, weakening industrial performance and downward revisions to earlier monthly estimates suggest that growth remains uneven and vulnerable to external and domestic economic pressures. These latest updates take the RPI to 64 and the RPI-P to 70, meaning that economic activities continue to outperform market expectations in the UK.
Market Consensus Before Announcement
After a remarkable 0.5 percent jump in February, forecasters see a 0.1 percent contraction in March.
Definition
Gross domestic product (GDP) is the broadest measure of aggregate economic activity and encompasses every sector of the economy. The monthly report is based on output data only as the income and expenditure series are not available.
Description
GDP covers all aspects of economic activity. Investors need to closely track the economy because it usually dictates how investments will perform. Stock market investors like to see healthy economic growth because robust business activity translates to higher corporate profits. GDP contains a treasure-trove of information which not only paints an image of the overall economy, but tells investors about important trends within the big picture. However, the monthly report is quite limited and only provides data on the main output sectors. More detailed information is available in the quarterly reports.