Investing.com - The U.K. economy grew in line with expectations in the second quarter, underlining optimism over the country’s economic outlook and supporting the case for higher interest rates, preliminary official data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, the Office for National Statistics said gross domestic product expanded by a seasonally adjusted 0.7% in the three months ended June 30, meeting forecasts. The U.K.’s economy grew by 0.4% in the preceding quarter.
Year-over-year, U.K. economic growth expanded 2.6% in the second quarter, in line with expectations. The U.K. economy grew at an annualized rate of 2.9% in the first quarter.
According to the report, mining and quarrying output posted the biggest increase since 1989, while industrial output rose by the most since the fourth quarter of 2010.
On the downside, manufacturing production dropped by the most since the first quarter of 2013.
GBP/USD was trading at 1.5562 from around 1.5541 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7107 from 0.7122 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets remained higher. London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.5%, the EURO STOXX 50 tacked on 0.6%, France's CAC 40 inched up 0.45%, while Germany's DAX increased 0.4%.