UK economy grows 0.6% in second quarter

(Sharecast News) - The UK economy grew 0.6% in the second quarter, down slightly on 0.7% growth in the first quarter but in line with expectations, according to data released on Thursday by the Office for National Statistics. The figures also revealed that on a monthly basis, the economy showed no growth in June, as expected.

Liz McKeown, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said: "The UK economy has now grown strongly for two quarters, following the weakness we saw in the second half of last year.

"Growth across the three months was led by the service sector, where scientific research, the IT industry and legal services all did well."

Ashley Webb, UK economist at Capital Economics, said: "Overall, today's release doesn't change our view that the Bank will keep interest rates on hold at 5.00% at the next policy meeting in September.

"But with the timely PMI data suggesting GDP growth slowed at the beginning of Q3, at the margin this lends a bit more support to our view that interest rates will be cut twice more this year, to 4.50%."