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UK Q2 GDP revised up to 0.9%

Anna Fedorova
Written By:
Anna Fedorova
Posted:
Updated:
30/09/2014

The Office for National Statistics has revised second quarter growth figures in the UK up from 0.8 per cent to 0.9 per cent in its final estimate.

The revision means UK GDP in the second quarter was 3.2% higher than during the same period in 2013, reinforcing the country’s position as one of the most quickly recovering economies.

The ONS has also changed the methodology used to measure GDP at the start of this month, which has altered historical GDP growth figures.

Under the new method, the UK economy saw a 6 per cent fall in growth from peak to trough during the financial crisis, not the previously estimated 7.2 per cent.

Growth in Q2 2014 was 2.7 per cent above the pre-crisis peak in Q1 2008, the economy having first passed this peak in Q3 2013, according to the revised figures.

The healthier figures may mean the Bank of England comes under renewed pressure to raise interest rates in the coming months.

Two members of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee – Ian McCafferty and Martin Weale – have already voted for a 0.25 per cent rate hike for two months in a row.

However, the remaining seven members still believe the economy is not strong enough to withstand a rate hike at the moment.