Investing.com - The U.K. economy grew in line with initial expectations in the second quarter, underlining optimism over the health of the economy and supporting the case for higher interest rates, official data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the U.K.’s Office for National Statistics said gross domestic product expanded at a seasonally adjusted rate of 0.7% in the three months ended June 30, meeting forecasts and unchanged from a preliminary estimate. The U.K.’s economy grew by 0.4% in the preceding quarter.
Year-over-year, U.K. economic growth expanded 2.4% in the second quarter, down from an initial estimate of 2.6%. The U.K. economy grew at an annualized rate of 2.9% in the first quarter.
Total business investment increased by a seasonally adjusted 1.6% in the second quarter, compared to an initial estimate of a gain of 2.9%.
GBP/USD was trading at 1.5147 from around 1.5156 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7413 from 0.7409 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets remained higher. London’s FTSE 100 jumped 1.8%, the EURO STOXX 50 rallied 1.9%, France's CAC 40 surged 1.9%, while Germany's DAX advanced 1.8%.