UK Q2 GDP revised higher as net trade boosts economy

The UK economy grew by 0.7% in the second quarter of 2013, a higher than previously estimated figure, according to latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.

The ONS attributed the rise, up from a previous estimate of 0.6% growth, to "small upwards revisions" across a number of industrial groupings. Net trade was responsible for 0.3 percentage points of the headline figure, suggesting the weaker pound helped boost UK economic performance over the period. The better-than-expected figures meant sterling continued the upwards trend exhibited earlier this morning, rising to $1.5633 against the dollar. Employee compensation rose by 2.4% on the quarter, the highest figure since Q3 2000, though this partly reflected "unusually high" bonus paym...