Economy grows 0.8%

The UK economy grew by 0.8% between July and September, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics.

This figure follows expansion of 1.2% in the second quarter of the year and is better than the 0.4% growth that economists had predicted.

The economy has now expanded for four consecutive months and economic growth over the past six months has now hit 2%, the fastest pace of expansion seen over two consecutive quarters for ten years.

“News that the UK economy grew by an estimated 0.8% in the third quarter of the year is greatly encouraging but is likely to make it even harder for the Bank of England to decide on whether further quantitative easing is needed to offset any negative effect from the coalition government’s tax and spending squeeze,” said Dr John Philpott, chief economic adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.