{"text":[[{"start":7.72,"text":"The UK economy expanded by 0.7 per cent in the third quarter, underscoring its resilience in the face of surging energy prices and rising borrowing costs."}],[{"start":17.4,"text":"Thursday’s figure from the Office for National Statistics matched the expectation of economists surveyed by Reuters and compared with a 0.5 per cent expansion in the second quarter."}],[{"start":27.48,"text":"The acceleration was led by a 0.9 per cent expansion in the dominant services sector. The IT sector was one of the big drivers within services, led by programming and consultancy activities."}],[{"start":38.88,"text":"“This industry has been the largest driver of GDP growth across 2026,” the ONS said, adding that “many of the businesses reporting the largest increases in turnover are involved in activities related to artificial intelligence and cloud computing”."}],[{"start":53.32,"text":"Construction output fell in the quarter. Manufacturing output rose by 0.9 per cent, with the biggest contribution coming from computer, electronic and optical products."}],[{"start":62.48,"text":"In September, GDP grew by 0.2 per cent, the ONS said, while August was revised downwards to no growth from 0.1 per cent previously."}],[{"start":72,"text":"The Bank of England last week upgraded its growth forecasts for the year, predicting an expansion of 1.6 per cent in 2026 as strong tech activity and investment help offset damage to incomes from rising gas and electricity prices."}],[{"start":85.52,"text":"George Brown, senior economist at Schroders, said that “Britain’s economy is proving surprisingly difficult to knock off course,” with “business investment doing the heavy lifting amid the AI build-out”."}],[{"start":97.32,"text":"Energy costs have soared since the start of the war in Iran in February, though oil prices have fallen from their peak in recent weeks as production in the Middle East has rebounded."}],[{"start":105.36,"text":"However, the central bank also warned that inflation was set to hit 5 per cent next year, bearing down on household spending power, as it forecast a slowdown in GDP growth to 1.3 per cent in 2027."}],[{"start":118.96,"text":"The pound was steady after the data release, continuing to trade 0.2 per cent lower against the dollar at $1.325."}],[{"start":126.72,"text":"Responding to the GDP figures, chancellor John Healey said: “The Middle East conflict has hit growth worldwide, yet Britain is showing standout resilience. Our UK economy is growing at the fastest rate in almost 10 years, outside the pandemic.”"}],[{"start":139.44,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1794470906_8230.mp3"}