British economy accelerates into recovery

LONDON—Britain’s economy grew at an accelerated pace of 0.6 percent in the second quarter compared with output in the first three months of the year, building on the country’s recovery, official data showed on Thursday.

“Gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 0.6 percent in quarter 2 2013 compared with Q1 2013” when output climbed by 0.3 percent, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement.

The economy expanded by 1.4 percent in the second quarter, or three months to the end of June, compared with the equivalent period in 2012, the ONS added.

Both figures were in line with analysts’ consensus forecasts, according to a survey by Dow Jones Newswires.

Finance minister George Osborne welcomed the data, claiming that “the British economy is on the mend” though the chancellor of the exchequer also cautioned that there remained “a long way to go”.

Osborne added in a Treasury statement: “I will not let up in my determination to make sure we put right all that went wrong in our economy” leading up to the 2008 global financial crisis.