British economy surprisingly strong: official data

LONDON: Britain's recovering economy grew more than expected in the second quarter, revised official data showed on Tuesday.

Gross domestic product expanded by 0.9 percent in the April-June period compared with output in the first three months of the year, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement.

The ONS had put second-quarter GDP output at 0.8 percent in previous readings -- a rate of growth which meant Britain's economy had overtaken the size it achieved before the global financial crisis of 2008.

The economy expanded by 3.2 percent in the second quarter compared with the equivalent period in 2013, the ONS confirmed on Tuesday.

While Britain's economy shows signs of solid recovery, growth in the 18-country eurozone ground to a halt in the second quarter, dragged down by France and Germany and casting a cloud over the crisis-hit region.