UK GDP Preliminary Estimate Matches Expectations; Annual GDP Grows 2.8% While Quarterly GDP Growth Clocks 0.7%

Gross Domestic Product for the fourth quarter of 2013 in the UK increased by 0.7 percent over the previous quarter while GDP grew by 2.8 percent over the same period in 2013, data from the Office for National Statistics, or ONS, showed Tuesday.

Both figures are preliminary estimates and were in line with expectations. In the fourth quarter, output increased in three out of four main industrial categories, according to ONS data. Output rose by 0.5 percent in agriculture, 0.7 percent in production and 0.8 percent in services, while output fell by 0.3 percent in construction.

Services is the most heavily weighted category, accounting for 77.8 percent of the weight assigned for GDP calculation followed by production at 15.2 percent, construction at 6.3 percent and agriculture at 0.7 percent.

The preliminary estimate of the GDP number is arrived at with the help of less than half of the total data required for the final output estimate, which means it could be subject to small revisions between this estimate and the third one, according to the ONS statement.

The data also showed that GDP is estimated to have increased by 1.9 percent in all of 2013, compared with 2012.