"Our monthly estimates of GDP suggest that output grew by 0.4 per cent in the third quarter of this year, a slight increase in comparison with the second quarter when the economy expanded by 0.3 per cent. Although growth has nudged higher, the UK economy continues to lag behind other major industrial economies such as the Euro Area and US" - NIESR

Amit Kara, Head of UK Macroeconomic Forecasting at NIESR, said "We estimate that economic growth recovered to 0.4 per cent in the third quarter of this year from 0.3 per cent in the second quarter. Our third quarter GDP growth estimate is in line with the forecast published in August. Although economic growth is likely to be a touch stronger in the second half of this year compared with the first, it is important to note that activity has slowed since last year and this at a time when real GDP growth in other major economies such as the Euro Area and the USA has strengthened. Looking ahead, we expect the pattern of demand in the UK economy to rebalance towards international trade in response to strengthening global growth and weaker sterling and away from domestic demand.