LONDON- Britain’s economy unexpectedly grew by 0.1 percent in the final quarter of last year, official figures showed on Thursday, offering some respite from a downbeat economic picture facing finance minister Rachel Reeves, though longer-term challenges remain.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast that British gross domestic product would shrink by 0.1 percent in the period, but the quarter was lifted by stronger-than-expected growth of 0.4 percent in December.
Across 2024 as a whole, total GDP grew by 0.9 percent after 0.4 percent growth in 2023.
But adjusted for a rising population, national output per capita fell by 0.1 percent last year, highlighting ongoing pressure on living standards and public finances.
Sterling strengthened by as much as a third of a cent against the US dollar after the data.
“A pleasant surprise, but we’re not out of the woods yet. Beneath the surface of these latest figures, domestic demand via consumption and business investment was weaker than expected,” said Scott Gardner, an investment strategist at Nutmeg, a wealth manager owned by J.P. Morgan.
December’s growth reflected a robust performance by Britain’s large services sector, with wholesalers, film distributors, pubs and bars doing well, as did machinery manufacturers and pharmaceuticals companies, the Office for National Statistics said.
