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April 28, 2017UK GDP Q1 2017 (PRELIMINARY ESTIMATE) 
The UK Office of National Statistics reported real GDP for the first quarter of 2017 grew by 0.3 per cent, slowing compared to growth in the fourth quarter of 0.7 per cent and the general pace of 2016. Slower growth was mainly due to services which grew at 0.3 per cent compared to 0.8 per cent in the previous quarter. Real activity in retail sales and accommodations declined as prices increased more than spending. Government and other services grew 0.5 per cent with growth in the health and education sectors. Business services and finance grew 0.7 per cent with strong performance of accounting and travel agency activities. Manufacturing (0.5%), construction (0.2%) and agriculture (0.2%) all increased in the first quarter.
Office for National Statistics