UK GDP rose 0.4% in Q4, less than expected

UK gross domestic product (GDP) in volume terms was estimated to have increased by 0.4% between Quarter 3 (July to Sept) and Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2017; this is a 0.1 percentage point revision down from the preliminary estimate of GDP, in part reflecting a small downward revision to the estimated output of the production industries.

Growth in the latest quarter was driven by business services and finance within the services sector, there was, though, a small downward revision to services since the preliminary estimate of GDP, but this does not impact on services quarterly growth to one decimal place.

Business investment growth was flat between Quarter 3 (July to Sept) and Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2017, but when compared with the same quarter a year ago business investment grew by 2.1%.

GDP was estimated to have increased by 1.7% between 2016 and 2017, a downward revision of 0.1 percentage points from the preliminary estimate and slightly lower than the 1.9% growth seen between 2015 and 2016.

Household spending grew by 1.8% between 2016 and 2017, its slowest rate of annual growth since 2012, in part reflecting the increased prices faced by consumers.