ONS figure for February suggests Britain was gaining momentum before conflict dashed hopes of recovery
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UK GDP expanded by a stronger than expected 0.5% in February, official figures show, suggesting the economy was gaining momentum before the onset of war in the Middle East dashed hopes of recovery.
The jump, reported by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), was significantly bigger than the 0.1% forecast by economists. January’s flatlining figure was also revised up, to 0.1% growth.
The ONS said February’s upturn was driven by a strong performance from the services sector and from manufacturing, both of which posted 0.5% growth, and a recovery in construction output, which was up 1%.
