LONDON: Britain's economy performed better than previously thought in the second quarter, as households spent more and saved less as a result of easing lockdown restrictions, official data showed Thursday.
Gross domestic product in the three months to June grew by 5.5 percent, up sharply from the previous estimate of 4.8 percent, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement which also cited accounting changes.
The ONS added that the GDP was 3.3 percent below where it was in the final quarter of 2019 before the pandemic struck. That compared with the prior estimate of 4.4 percent.
The biggest driver of the large upward second-quarter revision was household expenditure.
The ONS also revealed the economy shrank by 1.4 percent in the first quarter.
That marked an improvement from the prior estimate of a 1.6-percent contraction.
"Today we've published new, revised estimates of GDP, which include numerous improvements to sources and methods," said ONS statistician Jonathan Athow.
He noted the latest data showed health services and the arts performing better than previously thought in the second quarter.
"The revised figures show households have been saving less in recent years than previously thought," said Athow.
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"Household saving fell particularly strongly in the latest quarter from the record highs seen during the pandemic, as many people were again able to spend on shopping, eating out and driving their cars."
The strong recovery was fuelled by consumer spending, while the government continued to provide massive financial support by paying the bulk of private sector wages.
However, the so-called furlough jobs support programme ends Thursday, while the economy remains plagued by supply chain bottlenecks, runaway gas prices and a chronic lorry driver shortage.
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