UK GDP Revised Up To 0.7% For Second Quarter Of 2013

'We Grew By 0.1% More Than We Thought!'
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne leaves number 11 Downing Street in central London on April 10, 2013. British lawmakers will interrupt their holidays for a special session of parliament on April 10 to debate the legacy of Margaret Thatcher, although many of the former premier's most trenchant critics are likely to stay away. AFP PHOTO / ANDREW COWIE (Photo credit should read ANDREW COWIE/AFP/Getty Images)
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne leaves number 11 Downing Street in central London on April 10, 2013. British lawmakers will interrupt their holidays for a special session of parliament on April 10 to debate the legacy of Margaret Thatcher, although many of the former premier's most trenchant critics are likely to stay away. AFP PHOTO / ANDREW COWIE (Photo credit should read ANDREW COWIE/AFP/Getty Images)
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The UK economy grew by 0.7% over the second quarter of this year after the Office for National Statistics revised up its initial 0.6% estimate by 0.1%.

The news will be welcomed by Chancellor George Osborne at the end of a week that showed the Treasury had posted its first deficit in July since 2010 due to soaring borrowing levels.

The revised economic indicator would still mean that UK GDP was over 3% below its pre-recession peak.

Jeremy Cook, chief economist at the foreign exchange company, World First, said: "We are still a long way behind pre-recession levels, and therefore, I expect that 0.7% will not be classed as ‘exit velocity’ by the Bank of England and the loose monetary policy of low rates and additional QE spending will be carried further than the market currently expects.”

The ONS said that compensation for employees increased by 2.4%, its highest quarterly increase since the third quarter of 2000, due to "unusually high bonus payments" in April 2013, brought about by the banks' deferral of bonus payments to after the 50p higher income tax band was scrapped.

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