UK economy grows despite Brexit turmoil

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) - The U.K. economy grew 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016, the country’s official statistics body said on Thursday.

A preliminary report by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the increase was at the same rate of growth as in the previous two quarters. The data suggested a strong economic performance, despite ongoing wrangling over the country's Brexit referendum result from last June.

Thursday’s statistics came on a day when the British pound reached a six-week peak and traded at 1.2598 according to exchange rate data.

The ONS said the growth had been achieved thanks to “services, with a strong contribution from consumer-focused industries such as retail sales and travel agency services”.

The data also revealed that U.K. GDP was estimated to have “increased by 2.0 percent during 2016, slowing slightly from 2.2% in 2015 and from 3.1% in 2014”.

British GDP per head was also estimated to have increased by 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016 and by 1.3 percent over the year.