The UK economy grew at a slightly sharper pace than expected at the start of the year, according to a revision from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
UK gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.7% quarter-on-quarter in the three months to March, recovering after falls of 0.3% and 0.1% in the previous two quarters, and topping the prior estimate of a 0.6% increase.
Year-on-year, growth was upwardly revised to 0.3% from 0.2%. The UK economy had declined 0.2% on-year in the final quarter of 2023.
“In output terms, services grew by 0.8% on the quarter with widespread growth across the sector; elsewhere the production sector grew by 0.6% while the construction sector fell by 0.6%,” the ONS said.
An estimate earlier this month showed the UK economy registered no growth at the start of the second-quarter. GDP was unchanged on-month in April, following a rise of 0.4% in March, the ONS said earlier this month.
The news means the UK exited what is known as a technical recession – defined as two successive quarters of negative GDP growth – in a slightly stronger fashion than originally thought.
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor