For the fifth time in a row, Britain’s economy has expanded, although growth rates were still slightly lower than expected.
The preliminary data, released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), showed that the first-quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) came in at 0.8 per cent for the quarter. Economists however expected a growth of 0.9 per cent.
This being said however, the figure is markedly higher than the 0.7 per cent growth recorder for the last quarter of 2013, where GDP was 3.1 per cent higher when compared to the first quarter of 2013; the fastest rise since the end of 2007.
However, the UK economy still reminds below its peak at the start of the financial crisis as ONS said that the first-quarter GDP was estimated to be 0.6 per cent below its peak in the first three months of 2008.
In response to these figures, the Prime Minister, David Cameron, responded on Twitter with the following:
“Today’s GDP figures show that Britain is coming back. There’s no room for complacency but our long term economic plan is working.”
The ONS said that in the last quarter, output had increased in three of the four main sections of the economy, although agriculture slid by 0.7 per cent. In contrast though, output grew by 0.9 per cent in the services sector, 0.8 in production and 0.3 in construction.
