Investing.com - The U.K. economy grew less than expected in the third quarter, dampening optimism over the country’s economic outlook and dimming the case for higher interest rates, preliminary official data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, the Office for National Statistics said gross domestic product expanded by a seasonally adjusted 0.5% in the three months ended September 30, missing forecasts for growth of 0.6%. The U.K.’s economy grew by 0.7% in the preceding quarter.
Year-over-year, U.K. economic growth expanded 2.3% in the third quarter, below expectations for 2.4%. The U.K. economy grew at an annualized rate of 2.4% in the second quarter.
According to the report, services increased by 0.7%, production increased by 0.3% and agriculture increased by 0.5%.
In contrast, construction output decreased by 2.2%. Within production, manufacturing fell by 0.3% but this fall was offset by a 2.4% increase in Mining and Quarrying and a 1.2% increase in water and waste management.
GBP/USD was trading at 1.5316 from around 1.5323 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7204 from 0.7200 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets remained mostly lower. London’s FTSE 100 shed 0.2%, the EURO STOXX 50 dipped 0.1%, France's CAC 40 inched down 0.1%, while Germany's DAX tacked on 0.1%.