Breaking News: UK GDP Expands 0.3% MoM, GBP Bid

[Ben Graham]

• UK GDP rose 0.3% month-over-month in November 2025, beating expectations.
• Growth was driven primarily by the Services (0.3%) and Manufacturing (2.1%) sectors.
• The initial strengthening of the GBP after the release was short-lived, with the currency quickly pulling back.

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In November 2025, the UK economy grew by 0.3%, bouncing back from a slight dip in October and doing better than experts predicted. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast that GDP would expand by 0.1% on a month-on-month basis.

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UK GDP Breakdown

What Drove the Growth?

• The Services Sector: This was the biggest winner, growing by 0.3%. High-performing areas included science, tech, and computer programming.
• Manufacturing: This sector grew by 2.1%. The standout performer was the car industry, where production jumped by over 25% as factories finally got back to normal following a cyberattack in August.
• Shopping: Wholesale and retail trade also saw a healthy 0.6% boost.

Where did it struggle?

• Construction: This was the main weak spot, with activity falling by 1.3%. This was a slightly bigger drop than what was seen in the previous month.

The Bank of England expects Britain's economy to have shown zero growth in the October-to-December period of 2025 although it thinks underlying growth is running at about 0.2% a quarter.

In the three months to November, the economy grew by 0.1%, the Office for National Statistics said.

Market Reaction and Outlook - GBP/USD

Markets saw the GBP strengthen in the aftermath of the GDP release but the move proved short-lived.

An immediate pullback occurred leaving Cable trading around the 1.3435 handle at the time of writing.

GBP/USD 15M Chart, January 15, 2025

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Source: TradingView.com

For a more in depth look at the technical picture for GBP/USD, Please read Key Support Holds for GBP/USD as Traders Eye US Inflation and UK GDP

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