The recovery in the UK manufacturing sector helped the economy grow by more than expected in the second quarter, official figures showed today.
In its preliminary estimate for the second quarter, the office for National Statistics revealed that the UK economy grew by 0.8 per cent from the previous quarter, above expectations for growth to remain unchanged from the first quarter at 0.7 per cent.
This means that the growth rate has now been at or above its long-run average, considered to be between 0.6-0.7 per cent, for six consecutive quarters.
Today's data also showed that GDP rose by 3 per cent on a year-on-year basis, unchanged from the rise recorded in the first quarter, and above expectations for a 2.9 per cent rise.
The firm growth rate is one of the reasons the Bank of England has raised interest rates five times since August last year and may boost expectations that rates will hit 6 per cent in the coming months.
GDP during the quarter was driven by the services sector, which makes up 74 per cent of overall GDP, but industrial production industries also made a strong contribution.