Confirmed: UK economic growth held at 0.5%

The UK economy officially grew by 0.5% in Q1, according to the Office for National Statistics'(ONS) third and final estimate for the period.

Although construction output was revised upwards, this was cancelled out by a downward revision to manufacturing. The 0.6% decline in consumer spending in the same quarter was also confirmed, which is the biggest fall since the second quarter of 2009. The ONS also said the household saving ratio was 4.6% in Q1, down from 5.1% in the final quarter of 2010. Meanwhile, the level of real household disposable income fell by 0.8% during the same period.