The U.K. economy grew 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016, the country鈥檚 official statistics body said on Thursday.
A preliminary report by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the increase was at the same rate of growth as in the previous two quarters. The data suggested a strong economic performance, despite ongoing wrangling over the country's Brexit referendum result from last June.
Thursday鈥檚 statistics came on a day when the British pound reached a six-week peak and traded at 1.2598 according to exchange rate data.
The ONS said the growth had been achieved thanks to 鈥渟ervices, with a strong contribution from consumer-focused industries such as retail sales and travel agency services鈥�.
The data also revealed that U.K. GDP was estimated to have 鈥渋ncreased by 2.0 percent during 2016, slowing slightly from 2.2% in 2015 and from 3.1% in 2014鈥�.
British GDP per head was also estimated to have increased by 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016 and by 1.3 percent over the year.
By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal in London
Anadolu Agency
enerji@aa.com.tr
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