Netherlands International: UK economy continues to show weak growth in the second half of the year.

James Smith of the Dutch International Group stated in a report that the UK GDP growth has shown a significant seasonality, with weaker growth in the second half of the year compared to the first half. He said, "Since 2022, the performance in the first half of each year has been much stronger than in the second half." In the first and second quarters of 2025, GDP grew by 0.7% and 0.2% respectively, but in the third and fourth quarters, it only grew by 0.1%. Smith suggested that this may be partly due to the widespread rise in prices at the beginning of the year, which has pushed up inflation, and this phenomenon of price rises may not have been fully adjusted in the calculation of the inflation index. He said, "There is no reason to believe that this trend will stop in 2026, and even for this reason alone, we expect a small rebound in the first quarter."