The UK emerged from recession in the first quarter of 2024, with a 0.6% growth in GDP, as reported by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Friday.
The growth exceeded economists' expectations, who had forecast a 0.4% rise, following a 0.3% decline in the last quarter of 2023 and a 0.1% drop in the third. A recession is typically defined as two consecutive quarters of economic contraction.
The first quarter growth was largely driven by "robust activities in the services sectors," particularly in "retail trade, public transport and health," despite another sluggish quarter in construction, said Liz McKeown, ONS' Director of Economic Statistics.
Growth also surpassed the Bank of England's (BoE) prediction, which forecast a 0.4% rise for the first three months of 2024.
The BoE, which raised its key interest rate 14 times between December 2021 and last September to combat inflation, unsurprisingly held it at 5.25% on Thursday.
