Britain exits recession faster than expected

The UK economy emerged from its 18-month recession at a faster pace than expected, figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show.

Britain's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.3% in the final three months of 2009, up from its first estimate of 0.1% and stronger than the 0.2% revision made by City economists. It follows better-than-expected showings from most parts of the economy. The services sector, the biggest part of the economy, grew 0.5% instead of the 0.1% initially estimated; manufacturing was also revised upward, with industrial production growing 0.4% instead of 0.1%. Elsewhere, Government spending increased 1.2%.