UK economic growth rises to 0.5% in fourth quarter

The UK economy grew at a faster pace at the end of last year, but annual expansion slowed amid global trade woes and falling commodity prices.

GDP growth expanded in the fourth quarter, but slowed year-on-year

The first estimate from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that gross domestic product (GDP) eased to 2.2 per cent in 2015, down from 2.9 per cent the year before.

It added that expansion in the fourth quarter of the year picked up to 0.5 per cent, from 0.4 per cent in the third quarter and following 0.5 per cent in the second quarter.

The UK economy has slowed since last summer and this month Chancellor George Osborne said the UK faced a “dangerous cocktail of new threats” such as falling commodity prices, recessions in Brazil and Russia and rising tensions in the Middle East.

But in a tweet on the latest GDP figures, Osborne said the data showed the UK “continues to grow steadily & despite turbulence in global economy we’re pushing ahead”.