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| UK economy growing at fastest rate since 2007 | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The UK economy grew by 0.7% in the fourth quarter of 2013, bringing the annual growth rate to 1.9%, said the Office for National Statistics (ONS). | |
| It said this was the UK's fastest annual rate of growth since 2007. | |
| "We've seen growth in most parts of the economy," said Joe Grice, chief economist at the ONS. | |
| But growth in the fourth quarter was down slightly on the third quarter's 0.8% figure and annual growth remains well below 2007's 3.4% pace. | |
| Revisions | |
| The UK's service sector - which makes up more than three-quarters of economic output - rose by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, the ONS said, matching its performance in the previous quarter. | |
| But industrial production fell slightly from 0.8% to 0.7%, dragged down by falling North Sea oil and gas output. | |
| Construction - which accounts for less than 8% of gross domestic product (GDP) - fell by 0.3% in the quarter, despite the recent recovery in a housing market boosted by the government's Help to Buy scheme. | |
| In December, the independent Office for Budget Responsibility revised its 2013 UK growth forecast from 0.6% to 1.4%. | |
| It is currently forecasting growth of 2.4% for 2014, but if the economy continues recovering at its current pace, the OBR's revised forecast may also have to be revised. | |
| The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also increased its growth forecast for the UK economy from 1.9% to 2.4%. | |
| The ONS figures are themselves preliminary estimates, based on early submissions and are subject to revision. | |
| Targets | |
| Stronger GDP growth is leading to speculation that the Bank of England may be forced to raise its base interest rate - currently 0.5% - sooner than it had expected. | |
| But governor Mark Carney has said the rate is unlikely to rise any time soon, despite the sharp drop in UK unemployment last week to a rate of 7.1%, close to the level at which it said it would consider cutting interest rates - although last week it said it would no longer use employment as a prompt for rate setting, but a wider range of measures. | |
| Inflation has fallen to the Bank's target rate of 2%. |