Economic security

U.K. economy shrugs off Brexit fears

The U.K. economy grew 2.3% in the third quarter, confounding forecasts that it would slump after the Brexit vote.

Quarter on quarter, GDP grew 0.5%. That's weaker than the second quarter, but nowhere near as bad as expected. The Bank of England was expecting growth of between 0.2% and 0.3% in the July to September period.

"It could be that the economy is in a post-referendum 'sweet spot' whereby some of the positive developments since the vote, such as action by the [Bank of England] have been felt before the major adverse consequences, such as a rise in inflation," said Ruth Gregory, U.K. economist at Capital Economics.

The central bank cut interest rates and revived its stimulus program in August in a move to prevent the economy sliding into recession after the U.K. voted to leave the EU, its biggest trading partner.