UK economy grows at fastest rate for more than two years

City reporter
LONDON: The UK economy grew at its fastest rate for more than two years in the three months to September.
Between July and September, the economy expanded by 0.7%, accelerating from the previous three months, official figures, external show.
The robust growth suggests a far more resilient economy than expected over the summer, despite the impact of higher energy prices from the Iran war.
Strong growth in the services sector – the largest part of the economy, which includes non-physical goods such as consultancy services and computer programming as well as hotels and restaurants – helped boost the numbers.
Within services, computer programming registered its fastest growth for the past three years, helped by cloud computing and AI-linked spending.
The boost from computer programming and consultancy services has been the biggest driver of growth so far this year. High energy costs have been stoked by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
US and Israeli attacks led to Iran blocking the Strait of Hormuz – a vital shipping route for the world’s oil and gas.
Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine have been attacking each other’s oil refineries, leading to a squeeze on global refining capacity, hitting diesel and petrol prices.