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Thu, 14 May 2026

Thu, 14 May 2026 Faisal Islam: Six things we now know about the UK economy in charts

The UK economy is showing resilience – it’s worth diving into the data in more detail to understand why.

* UK economy grew by 0.6% in Q1, beating expectations
* GDP per capita growth was the fastest in four years, but still sluggish compared to previous years
* The UK is currently the fastest-growing major economy among G7 nations, contradicting IMF forecasts that predicted it would be hit hardest
* Strong growth across services, construction, and manufacturing sectors
* Boost to wholesale and retail trade suggests resilient consumer spending
* However, concerns emerging about rising fuel and chemical costs affecting certain sectors
* Consumer confidence is starting to show the impact of rising fuel and mortgage costs
* Economy grew by 0.3% in March, confounding analysts' forecasts of a contraction