By dpa-AFX The economy is on the path to growth

London (dpa-AFX) – The British economy surprisingly continued to grow in the spring. In the second quarter, gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 0.2 percent compared to the previous quarter, the statistics office ONS said in London on Friday, after a preliminary estimate. Analysts had expected economic output to stagnate on average in the April to June period. Year-on-year, the UK economy grew by 0.4 per cent.

This allowed the British economy to build on the modest growth at the start of the year. In the first three months of the year, economic output increased by 0.1 percent compared to the previous quarter.

In June, the Bureau of Statistics reported GDP growth of 0.5 percent. Here, analysts on average expected growth of just 0.2 percent after economic output contracted 0.1 percent in May. Unlike many countries, the UK also reports monthly economic performance data.

There was also unexpectedly strong growth in industrial production. In June, industrial firms increased their output by 1.8 percent month-on-month, the Bureau of Statistics said. Analysts had expected an average growth of 0.2 percent after output fell 0.6 percent in May.