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GDP grew by 0.5% in February

ended 16. April 2026

In the three months to February 2026, compared with the three months to November 2025: Real gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.5%, following a growth of 0.3% in the three months to January 2026, and no growth in the three months to December 2025, ONS has revealed.

Services output grew by 0.5%, after showing a growth of 0.3% in the three months to January 2026. Production output grew by 1.2%; this follows a growth of 1.7% in the three months to January 2026.

Construction output fell by 2%, following falls of 2.8% in the three months to both January 2026 and December 2025.

In the month to February 2026: Monthly GDP grew by 0.5% in February 2026, following a growth of 0.1% in January 2026 and 0.1% in December 2025.

Services and production both grew by 0.5%, and construction grew by 1% in February 2026.

  • What is your reaction to the GDP figures?
  • What’s wrong with the economy at present and who’s to blame?
  • What effect will the Iran war have when it feeds into the figures in the coming months?

Responses asap please.

3 responses from the Newspage community

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Editor
Craig Fish
Director at Lodestone Mortgages
These GDP figures look encouraging on the surface, 0.5% growth is positive. But scratch beneath and the picture is murkier. Construction falling 2% for three consecutive quarters tells the real story - an economy under pressure, burdened by employer NI hikes and fragile business confidence.Sadly, these figures feel more like a what-might-have-been than a springboard. I suspect this is the last good news we'll see for some time. The Iran conflict is pushing oil prices higher, feeding into inflation and complicating the Bank of England's rate-cutting path. That uncertainty will bleed into the data over coming months. Blame is a cocktail of poor fiscal timing from the Treasury, global instability, and swap rates refusing to fall. Borrowers are still waiting for meaningful mortgage relief but for buyers, now is the time to act. It's a buyer's market, sellers are negotiating, lenders are competing, and this window won't last long. Don't wait for a perfect moment that may never come.
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Justin Moy
Managing Director at EHF Mortgages
It’s a real shame these figures become largely irrelevant given this represents the time before the middle
East conflict. This highlights how fragile our economy has become, within a month we have wound back 12 months of interest rate improvements, bail outs for energy needed and we are all staring down the barrel of higher inflation. It was good for the days it lasted.
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Stephen Perkins
Managing Director at Yellow Brick Mortgages
A 0.5% increase in GDP would normally be celebrated as a significant step in the right direction. However it’s hard to be excited about this rise in February, knowing the gains have already been eradicated due to the geopolitical fallout over the subsequent March and April.