(MENAFN– ecpulse) Britain’s economy is finally bigger than it was before the financial crisis struck six years ago, putting the Bank of England (BoE) on alert that it may have to raise interest rates this year although its policymakers expect a slight slowing in the second half of 2014 and are focusing increasingly on low pay growth.
According to data from Office for National Statistics last week, UK’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expanded by 0.8 percent in the April-June period, the same strong pace as in the first three months of the year and in line with forecasts in a poll of economists.
Compared with the second quarter of last year, growth was 3.1 percent, the fastest pace since the end of 2007. Which means total economic output was 0.2 percent points bigger than in the first quarter of 2008, its pre-crises peak.
On Thursday the International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised its GDP forecast for a fourth time in a row to 3.2 percent. The upgrade means that the UK economy is set to grow at almost twice the pace of the the United States 1.7 percent growth, Germany by 1.9 percent.
Other countries like the the Eurozone and Germany showed slight recovery in its manufacturing and services activities which could hint a strong start to the third quarter, despite concerns over the Ukraine crisis depressing new orders.
Data released last week showed the flash composite Purchasing Managers` Index (PMI) for the whole of the euro zone came in at 54.0, up from a six-month low of 52.8 in June.
Eurozone, and its largest economy - Germany - started the third quarter on a strong note, with activity in its services sector increasing at a fastest pace than expected, while manufacturing also picked up.
However, the sustained slump in France is weighing on that emerging growth.
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