No change on economic growth

The economy grew by 0.7% in the final quarter of 2013, according to a new estimate from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

That figure is unchanged on the preliminary estimate, but the ONS has revised its estimates for other periods.

On a calendar year basis, gross domestic product is estimated to have increased by 1.8% in 2013, down from the previously estimated 1.9%.

Factory output has also been subject to a downward revision. Manufacturing output is now thought to have increased by only 0.7% between the third and fourth quarters of 2013 — a 0.2 percentage points cut on the previous estimate.

The recent recovery in the economy has raised the question of whether interest rate will rise, but recent comments from Bank of England have suggested that rates will rise in the first half of 2015 at the earliest.

www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_352114.pdf