By CountingPips.com
The United Kingdom gross domestic product rebounded in the first quarter of 2011 to show economic growth following a decline in the fourth quarter of 2010. The report for the U.K. GDP data showed that economic activity increased by 0.5 percent in the January through March quarter following a decline by 0.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010, according to the latest report by the Office of National Statistics.
The GDP advance matched economic forecasts that were looking for the 0.5 percent rise for the quarter.
On an annual basis, the first quarter GDP rose by 1.8 percent from the level of the first quarter of 2010 following a fourth quarter increase in GDP by 1.5 percent. The annual data also matched economic forecasts which were expecting an increase by 1.8 percent.
Contributing to the rise in GDP for the first quarter was an increase in total services output by 0.9 percent while total production output was higher by 0.4 percent. The business services and finance sector rose by 1.0 percent and the transport, storage & communication sector increased by 2.7 percent to contribute positively to the GDP in the first quarter. The manufacturing sector also advanced by 1.1 percent in the first quarter.
British pound gains ground in forex trade
The British pound has been boosted by the news and has increased versus the major currencies in forex trading today. The pound has been increasing against the euro, US dollar, Japanese yen, Swiss franc, Canadian dollar, New Zealand dollar and the Australian dollar, according to currency data by Oanda.
GBP/JPY Forex Chart – The British Pound Sterling rising sharply higher in forex trading versus the Japanese yen today after the GDP report. The GBP/JPY is higher by over 200 pips since the day’s opening.
