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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Surprise upgrade to UK growth | Surprise upgrade to UK growth |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The UK's economic growth has been revised up for the first quarter of the year after construction data was found to be stronger than earlier estimates | |
| Growth for the three months to March was 0.2%, the Office for National Statistics said, a surprise upgrade from the earlier estimate of 0.1%. | Growth for the three months to March was 0.2%, the Office for National Statistics said, a surprise upgrade from the earlier estimate of 0.1%. |
| There was more good news for the economy as separate ONS data showed the services sector grew by 0.3% in April. | There was more good news for the economy as separate ONS data showed the services sector grew by 0.3% in April. |
| That was the fastest monthly growth for the sector since November 2017. | That was the fastest monthly growth for the sector since November 2017. |
| Rob Kent-Smith of the Office for National Statistics said: "GDP growth was revised up slightly in the first three months of 2018, with later construction data, and significantly improved methods for measuring the sector, nudging up growth." | |
| The pound jumped by more than half cent against the dollar in reaction to the data, with sterling up 0.6% at $1.3172. | |
| Last week, the Bank of England kept UK interest rates on hold at 0.5% but signalled that an August rate rise was more likely than previously thought. | |
| At the meeting, the Bank's chief economist, Andrew Haldane, joined two other policymakers in voting to raise rates to 0.75%. | |
| Following the latest growth figures from the ONS, Ruth Gregory, senior UK economist at Capital Economics, said: "We remain cautiously upbeat about the economy's near-term prospects and continue to think that the MPC will press ahead and raise interest rates at its next meeting on 2 August." | |
| The ONS also showed that the UK's current account deficit narrowed to £17.7bn in the first three months of the year, down from a deficit of £19.5bn in the final quarter of 2017. |