UK’s economy grew faster last year than first believed

According to the Office for National Statistics’ latest data, the economy grew by 0.6 per cent in the final three months of 2014, up from the previous estimate of 0.5 per cent.

The increase meant growth for the year was 2.8 per cent, higher than the earlier estimate of 2.6 per cent.

The increased rate marks the highest rate of annual growth since 2006, when the economy grew by 3 per cent.

An expansion in both production and services in the fourth quarter helped to drive the increase, the official data suggested.

The revised figure was revealed alongside data showing that the UK’s current account deficit - the gap between the income paid to, and received from, the rest of the world - narrowed in the final quarter of last year.

The deficit in the three months to December was £25.3bn, down from the record-high of £27.7bn recorded in the previous quarter.

But for the year as a whole, the deficit widened to 5.5 per cent of GDP, marking the largest annual deficit since records began in 1948.