Britain's economic growth broadened a bit in the third quarter of 2013 as companies increased investment but growth was still driven by strong consumer spending, official data showed on Wednesday. As initially estimated, gross domestic product between July and September grew by 0.8 percent from the second quarter, its fastest pace in more than three years, the Office for National Statistics said.
In year-on-year terms, growth was 1.5 percent, also unchanged from last month's preliminary estimate by the ONS. Business investment grew 1.4 percent in the third quarter from the previous three-month period, recovering from a nearly 3 percent fall in the second quarter but still below average.
Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has said a pickup in business investment is crucial if Britain's economic recovery is to get onto a firmer footing. On Tuesday he said he expected a strong increase in investment by firms would not happen before 2014.
Carney also said he and other BoE officials were not happy with the reliability of the ONS data on business investment. Industrial output rose 0.6 percent on the quarter and construction was 1.7 percent, less than originally estimated.
Britain's vast services industry grew 0.7 percent in the third quarter, in line with the preliminary estimate. Consumer spending, which accounts for nearly two-thirds of Britain's economic expenditure, rose by 0.8 percent, its fastest pace since the second quarter of 2010.
The headline GDP numbers confirmed that Britain, until recently a laggard among the world's rich countries, now has one of the fastest-growing economies with an annualised growth rate of over 3 percent.
The figures will buoy finance minister George Osborne a week before he is due to deliver a half-yearly budget statement.
Osborne is expected to announce stronger growth estimates and lower borrowing projections on December 5. He is also likely to stick to his plan to bring down Britain's budget deficit, rather than try to lavish money on voters ahead of the 2015 elections. Economists say the recovery is unlikely to gather much more pace. Wages are rising less than inflation, the government is planning more belt-tightening and Britain's main trading partners in the euro zone are struggling to get out of recession.
Britain's trade deficit knocked 0.9 percentage points off GDP growth in the third quarter. Britain's economy remains 2.5 percent smaller than its peak in early 2008. Carney reiterated on Tuesday that Britain's recovery, while faster than that in other advanced economies, was starting from a low base.
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