The U.K. economy expanded 0.3 percent in the first quarter from a quarter ago, when it was down 0.3 percent, preliminary estimates from the Office for National Statistics showed Thursday.
The rate of expansion exceeded a 0.1 percent rise forecast by economists. Compared to the first quarter of 2012, gross domestic product advanced 0.6 percent, also faster than the expected 0.4 percent growth.
The largest contribution to the first quarter growth came from services, which grew 0.6 percent, contributing 0.47 percentage points to overall growth. At the same time, production gained 0.2 percent, due to a recovery in mining and quarrying.
The upward contributions were partially offset by a 2.5 percent fall in construction output.
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