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The UK economy grew by 0.4 per cent in May, double the expected figure.
The month-on-month rise followed zero growth in April, the Office for National Statistics said on Thursday and exceeded a 0.2 per cent forecast for May by economists polled by Reuters.
Sterling rose 0.1 per cent against the dollar to $1.2857 as the figures brought the UK’s annual gross domestic product growth to 1.4 per cent, higher than the 1.2 per cent economists had forecast.
Growth in May was driven by the services sector which grew by 0.3 per cent. Production output was up 0.2 per cent and construction rebounded by 1.9 per cent following a sharp contraction in April, when wet weather hit activity.
In the three months to May, output was up 0.9 per cent compared with he previous three months, the fastest growth since January 2022.
Labour, which swept to power in last week’s general election, has said growth is now the government’s “national mission” and is hoping planning reforms will help lift an economy that has underperformed many of its peers since the pandemic.
This is a developing story
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