UK GDP growth confirmed at 0.5% for Q4

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has confirmed GDP in the UK expanded by 0.5% in the fourth quarter of 2014.

The second estimate of UK growth in Q4 is unchanged from the first report last month, the ONS has confirmed. At 0.5%, Q4 growth came in slightly below analysts' expectations of 0.6% and undershot the previous quarter's figure of 0.7%. Ian Kernohan, chief economist at Royal London Asset Management, puts this slight decline down to a falling oil price, and oil and gas activity in the North Sea putting downward pressure on business investment. Business investment in the UK fell at its sharpest rate in nearly six years in Q4, down 1.4% from the previous quarter. "Two notable trends ...