UK economic growth drops back

UK GDP, the main indicator of economic growth, rose by 0.3% in the first three months of 2015 compared with a rise of 0.6% between October and December 2014.

According to the Office for National Statistics, output increased in services by 0.5% but the other three main industrial groupings within the economy decreased, with construction falling by 1.6%, production by 0.1% and agriculture by 0.2%.

Year-on-year GDP was up 2.4% at the end of March although the figures are preliminary and may be subject to small adjustments as more data becomes available.