Britain’s economy grew almost twice as fast as expected in the second
quarter of this year, buoyed by a sharp pick-up in services output and
the fastest rise in construction output in almost 50 years, according to
official data.

The Office for National Statistics said GDP
jumped 1.1 percent on the quarter, the fastest rise in four years, and
rose by 1.6 percent on the year – the highest in two years.

The
figures may raise doubts over how long the Bank of England will keep
interest rates at their record low, particularly with inflation running
so far above target.

Britain’s services sector enjoyed its
fastest growth in three years, expanding by 0.9 percent on the quarter –
three times as fast as in Q1 and contributing 0.7 percentage points to
growth.

Manufacturing grew 1.6 percent, its biggest rise in more than 10 years.

Construction, meanwhile, leapt by 6.6 percent on the quarter – its
fastest rate since 1963. The construction data was based for the first
time on a new monthly survey, rather than estimates which used to be
used at this stage.

The ONS said the rebound in construction
output in Q2 came after a fall of 1.6 percent in Q1 which was due to the
poor weather. Construction output contributed 0.4 percentage points to
growth between April and June.