UK economy performs better than expected, revised GDP figures show

LONDON

The UK economy performed even better than previously believed in the first half of this year and throughout 2022, new data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Friday revealed.

According to the ONS, the UK's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the January-March quarter of 2023 has been revised upward, indicating a growth rate of 0.3%.

This is an improvement from the earlier estimate of just 0.1% growth.

The data also revealed that economic growth in 2022 was stronger than initially thought, with GDP for the entire year now estimated to have increased by 4.3%, up from the initial estimate of 4.1%.

However, the second-quarter data for 2023 remains unchanged, still showing a growth rate of 0.2%.

During the period of April-June, the manufacturing sector grew by 1.2%, serving as the driving force behind the growth.

Grant Fitzner, Chief Economist at the ONS, commented on the latest data, stating: "Today’s latest figures show the GDP growth rate is almost unrevised over the last 18 months.

"Our new estimates indicate a stronger performance for professional and scientific businesses due to improved data sources. Meanwhile, healthcare grew less because of new near real-time information showing the cost of delivering services."