LONDON (dpa-AFX) - The UK economy expanded at a faster pace in the first quarter, as previously estimated, latest data from the Office for National Statistics showed Friday.
Gross domestic product climbed 0.5 percent sequentially, unrevised from the first estimate, and faster than the 0.2 percent growth registered in the fourth quarter.
The services sector provided the largest contribution to growth, while production also contributed positively, due largely to growth of 1.9 percent in manufacturing output.
Data showed that services output advanced 0.4 percent instead of 0.3 percent estimated previously. Likewise, growth in construction was revised up to 1.4 percent from 1 percent.
Meanwhile, production growth was revised down to 1.1 percent from 1.4 percent. Nonetheless, manufacturing output expanded the most since 1999.
On the expenditure side, household spending gained 0.6 percent and government spending by 0.8 percent. At the same time, gross fixed capital formation advanced 1.2 percent.
Business investment rose by a revised 0.4 percent from the previous quarter. The trade deficit widened to 3.7 percent of nominal GDP, compared with an initial estimate of 3.4 percent, the ONS said.
On a yearly basis, GDP grew by an unrevised 1.8 percent, following fourth quarter's 1.4 percent expansion. The latest growth was the fastest since the third quarter of 2017.
Another report from ONS showed that the current account deficit widened by GBP 6.3 billion to GBP 30.0 billion in the first quarter, or 5.6 percent of GDP. This was the fifth-highest on record as a percentage of GDP.
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