Recent UK monthly GDP data have reinforced expectations for solid Q3 2026 expansion, with output rising 0.1% month-on-month in August after 0.4% gains in both June and July, lifting the three-month rolling growth rate to 0.7%. This momentum, driven by production gains and AI-related activity in computer programming and professional services, has prompted forecasters to track Q3 quarter-on-quarter growth near 0.6-0.7% assuming modest or flat September figures. The IMF’s mid-October upgrade of full-year 2026 GDP growth to 1.3% highlights the economy’s resilience amid elevated energy prices from Middle East tensions, though persistent inflation pressures have also lifted Bank of England rate-hike odds for November. These developments have concentrated trader-implied probabilities on the 0.6-0.7% and 0.4-0.5% bands ahead of the Office for National Statistics’ first quarterly estimate.