The UK economy appeared to pick up pace in the second quarter of the year, with gross domestic product growing at 0.3 percent in the three months to June.
The figures, released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), showed an 0.1 percent increase on the 0.2 percent growth figure seen in the first quarter of the year.
According to the report, the largest contributors to growth in services were retail trade, which improved after a fall in the first quarter, and Britain’s thriving film production industry.
Construction and manufacturing were the largest downward pulls on quarterly GDP growth, following two consecutive quarters of growth.
ONS Head of GDP Darren Morgan commented on the results:
“The economy has experienced a notable slowdown in the first half of this year. While services such as retail and film production & distribution showed some improvement in the second quarter, a weaker performance from construction and manufacturing pulled down overall growth.”
Suren Thiru, head of economics at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “The pick-up in growth in the second quarter could prove to be a high point for the UK economy this year.
“Inflation is likely to resume its upward trajectory in the coming months and this could trigger a sharper economic slowdown by increasing the squeeze on consumer spending – a major driver of UK economic growth.”