MW: British economy expands 0.2% in second quarter
By William L. Watts
FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- The British economy grew by 0.2% in the second quarter compared to the first three months of the year and expanded by 0.7% versus the second quarter of last year, the U.K. Office for National Statistics reported Tuesday in a preliminary estimate. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast quarterly growth of 0.2% and a year-on-year expansion of 0.7%. GDP saw quarterly growth of 0.5% in the first quarter. The ONS said an additional public holiday in April,the royal wedding and the after-effects of the Japanese tsunami may have had a downward impact of around 0.4 percentage points in the services sector and 0.1 percentage point in the production sector. The agency cautioned, however, that the estimates of the impact are "broad-brush and illustrative" and that "there can be no certainty as to the impact of the special events and there may be other factors at play."
