UK economy stronger than thought in first quarter: data

Britain's economy grew more than expected in the first quarter, revised official data showed Friday, but remains at risk of recession as high inflation weighs on the country.

UK gross domestic product grew 0.3 percent in the January-March period, up from an initial estimate of 0.1-percent expansion, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement.

GDP grew by 0.2 percent in the second quarter which meant the economy slowed compared with the first three months of the year instead of picking up speed as initially thought, reports BSS.

Analysts said the data changed little for the UK outlook, as the nation grapples with high inflation and interest rates that risk tipping the economy into recession.

"The data leaves the economy still only 0.6 percent above its level a year ago," noted Ruth Gregory, deputy chief UK economist at Capital Economics research group.
"It does not change the big picture that the economy has lagged behind all other G7 countries aside from Germany and France since the pandemic."
It is now thought that the UK economy grew by 1.8 percent between the final quarter of 2019 -- or before the start of the Covid pandemic -- and the second quarter of this year, the ONS added Friday.
It previously said the UK economy had shrunk slightly over the period.
The revised reading puts the country's economy ahead of Germany, which had growth of only 0.2 percent between the eve of the pandemic and second quarter of this year. France grew 1.7 percent over the same period, the ONS said.

However, UK growth lags the 6.1-percent output in the United States and Japan's 3.0-percent expansion in that time, Friday's release showed.

"The UK economy's performance during and since the Covid-19 pandemic looks much better in the wake of revisions to the national accounts," said Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

"Nonetheless, a stable picture might take some time to emerge, given that statistical authorities in other countries are revising their data."