UK economy all but stalled in Q3

The U.K. economy slowed to a crawl in the third quarter, despite tentative signs of a pick-up in confidence amid a change of government and a turn in the interest rate cycle.
Gross domestic product grew by only 0.1 percent between July and September, the Office for National Statistics said on Friday. That was after two surprisingly strong quarters in the first half of the year, in which it had grown 0.7 and 0.5 percent, respectively.
GDP was up 1.0 percent from a year earlier, but the ONS indicated this was entirely due to the net increase in population. In per capita terms, a better reflection of living standards, GDP fell 0.1 percent on the quarter and was flat on the year.
The pound was unimpressed by the numbers, and was flat in early trading against the dollar and euro.
The numbers underline the challenge facing the new Labour government as it grapples with the after-effects of Covid and Brexit, along with longer-term problems such as population ageing and the growing but still incalculable risks of a fragmenting global trade system.
In a speech at the Mansion House on Thursday, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves had said she will “always do what is in our national interest for our economy,” adding “that means free and open trade, especially with our most economically important partners … that includes the U.S., our single most important destination for financial services trade.”