UK financial services generated a record trade surplus of $127 billion (£95 billion) in 2024 underlining the City’s crucial importance to the overall economy.

The total, a 15% rise on 2023, makes the UK the world’s biggest net exporter of financial services such as banking, foreign exchange, and insurance, ahead of the US.

The surplus is bigger than that of the next three highest ranking countries, Singapore, Switzerland and Luxembourg, combined.

When related professional services, such as legal services, are included, the combined surplus reaches $152.5 billion (£119.1billion) according to estimates from industry body The City UK.

UK trade surplus in financial services surges to record $127 billion

Sir Keir Starmer got a rare triple boost on GDP, the NHS and Grok after the string of U-turns by the Government.

On the economic front, gross domestic product grew by 0.3% in November, following a 0.1% decline in October.

The construction sector slipped by 1.3% in November, amid a warning that housebuilding in London is in its worst crisis since the Second World War. But the giant services sector grew by 0.3%.

Ben Jones, lead economist at the CBI, said: “This latest data is better than expected and suggests the economy was more resilient towards the end of last year than earlier figures implied.”

On the NHS, new figures showed the waiting list for routine hospital treatment has fallen to its lowest level since February 2023.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s decision to take on X boss Elon Musk in the storm on sexualised images created on AI tool Grok, digitially undressing women and children, appeared to have paid dividends.

X has now said it would prevent Grok “editing images of people in revealing clothes”.