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Britain Q1 GDP growth revised up to 0.4 pct

Xinhua, June 30, 2015 Adjust font size:

Britain's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.4 percent in the first quarter of 2015 from the fourth quarter of 2014, up 0.1 percent from the earlier estimate of 0.3 percent, data by Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed Tuesday.

The figures also showed GDP increased by 2.9 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, revised up 0.5 percentage points from the previously published estimate.

For 2014 as a whole, British economic growth was revised up to 3.0 percent from 2.8 percent.

The revisions are mainly due to a better performance from the construction industry than previously estimated, said the ONS.

"The national accounts showed that the recovery has more momentum than previously thought," said Samuel Tombs, a senior British economist at Capital Economics, a London-based economic research company.

However, there are downside risks to the outlook. "A messy resolution to the Greek crisis or a sudden change in overseas' investors' willingness to finance the current account deficit," could change the current climate, Tombs added.

But overall, Tombs projections were positive: "While the fall in household saving and huge current account deficit suggested that recent growth has relied on some temporary props, we remain confident that the UK is still on course for a period of strong and sustainable growth."

Martin Beck, senior economic advisor to the EY ITEM Club, said: "Today's data reinforces our confidence in our above-consensus forecast for GDP growth this year of 2.8 percent." Endit