The UK experienced its best quarterly performance since the second quarter of 2010 as the economy grew by 0.8% between July and September. It is the third successive period of growth.

The Eurozone’s economic recovery slowed in the third quarter as its economy grew by only 0.1%, down from the 0.3% growth in the second quarter. There were disappointing results in the third quarter for France, Germany and Italy. The French economy contracted by 0.1% after a slump in exports and business investment, Germany’s economy grew by 0.3% in the third quarter (down from the 0.7% growth in the second quarter) and Italy’s economy shrank by 0.1% (following a 0.3% contraction in the second quarter).

China’s economy grew at an annualized rate of 7.8% in the third quarter, marking only the second quarter in the last 10 in which growth has accelerated. However, some analysts have questioned whether the improvement is sustainable. Towards the end of the quarter, there were signs that the economy was slowing down, with exports falling in September and easing growth in factory output and retail sales. 

The US economy grew at an annualized rate of 2.8% in the third quarter of 2013, which was stronger than economists had anticipated, helped by rising exports, a pick-up in home construction and a large buildup in business inventories (which added 0.8 percentage points to the GDP). 

This report contains quarterly statistics data for markets around the world, as well as updates on the UK and European automotive and homeowner insurance markets.