British economy grows 0.6% in Q2

British economy grew by 0.6 percent in the second quarter of this year compared with the previous quarter, said the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Thursday in its preliminary estimate for the second quarter's economy. Britain's gross domestic product (GDP) increased 0.3 percent in the first quarter. The second quarter's GDP figure was basically in keeping with the previous market expectations of more than 0.5 percent growth. According to the ONS, all the four main industrial groupings within the economy, namely agriculture, production, construction and services, increased in second quarter. Output in the construction industry was estimated to have increased by 0.9 percent in the second quarter compared with the first quarter of this year. In the first quarter of this year, construction output was at its lowest level since the first quarter of 2001. GDP was 1.4 percent higher in the second quarter compared with the same quarter a year ago, said the ONS. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne earlier tweeted that "GDP stats better than forecast," adding, "Britain's holding its nerve, we're sticking to our plan, the economy's on the mend. But still a long way to go." HSBC Global Research in a report said that 0.6-percent growth was in line with the Bank of England's expectation. "So today's figures should not contain much news for monetary policy," it added. If a pick-up in growth is sustained, "we can expect some better public finance forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility in its Autumn forecast," HSBC added. "But it is puzzling when set against other economic data that shows falling real wages, a reluctance among firms to invest and the UK's largest trading partner (the eurozone) probably only just emerging from recession."