U.K. economy slows in the third quarter

LONDON--The British economy grew at a weaker-than-expected pace during the third quarter, but the slowdown is unlikely to shift Bank of England officials' view that interest rates in the U.K. will need to rise sooner than markets expect.

Britain's gross domestic product, a measure of all goods and services produced in the economy, rose 0.5% between July and September, government statisticians said Tuesday, an annualized rate of 2%. This was slower than the second quarter's 0.7% expansion and undershot expectations by most economists and policy makers, including the Bank of England, who were expecting growth to come in at a 0.6% quarterly rate.  Read more