Q1 GDP growth revised up to 0.2%

The ONS said the revision reflects improvements to how early estimates of construction output are produced, which has led to a notable upward revision in Q1.

However compared with the same quarter a year ago, GDP rose by an unrevised 1.2% in Q1 – the weakest growth since Q2 2012, continuing its recent subdued performance.

On a calendar-year basis, growth in 2017 has been revised down to 1.7%, slightly weaker than the revised 1.8% recorded in 2016.

The UK is the only G7 economy to have seen a slowing in annual GDP growth in 2017, with the other advanced economies experiencing a marked pickup in activity in 2017. Having experienced the second-fastest rate of growth in 2016, the UK was the joint fifth fastest-growing economy in the G7 in 2017, ahead of only Italy.

Rob Kent-Smith, head of GDP at the ONS, said: “GDP growth was revised up slightly in the first three months of 2018, with later construction data, and significantly improved methods for measuring the sector, nudging up growth.

“These improved methods, introduced as part of ONS’s annual update to its figures, will lead to better early estimates of the construction sector with smaller revisions in the future.

“Overall, households were borrowers at the beginning of 2018 and for the sixth consecutive quarter, as households continued to face increasing prices, squeezing their budgets.

“Investment by both local and central government and the private sector fell, with spending on buildings, machinery and software all seeing notable falls.”