(MENAFN- FxPro) The U.K. economy grew more than initially expected in the first three months of the year, underlining optimism over the health of the economy and supporting the case for higher interest rates, official data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, the U.K.'s Office for National Statistics said gross domestic product expanded at a seasonally adjusted rate of 0.4% in the first quarter, up from a previous estimate of 0.3% and in line with expectations.
Annualized GDP grew at a rate of 2.9% in the first quarter, up from an initial forecast of 2.4% and beating expectations for a 2.5% increase.
Total business investment increased by a seasonally adjusted 2.0% in the first three months of the year, compared to an initial estimate of a gain of 1.7% and above forecasts for 1.8%.
GBP/USD was trading at 1.5730 from around 1.5718 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7097 from 0.7106 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets remained lower. London's FTSE 100 shed 1%, the EURO STOXX 50 lost 1%, France's CAC 40 dropped 1.2%, while Germany's DAX slumped 1.1%.
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