Official figures show that Britain's economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter of 2007. The data are likely to reinforce expectations that the Bank of England will raise interest rates next month.
The Office for National Statistics said that GDP rose by 0.7% in the January-March period, the third such consecutive quarterly rise. Analysts had predicted a slowing to 0.6%. The annual rate of growth was 2.8%, down from 3% in the fourth quarter of last year.
Most economists expect the BoE to hike interest rates to 5.5% in May after figures last week showed inflation rose to a record 3.1% in March.
The breakdown of the GDP data revealed that while overall growth was still being driven by services, that sector had slowed slightly as a result of weaker retail sales. But this was offset by a strengthening in oil extraction and electricity supply.
