UK economy accelerates in the 2nd quarter

LONDON – Britain’s economy accelerated in the second quarter as warmer weather fueled construction and consumer spending after snow and ice curtailed activity in March.

The Office for National Statistics said Friday that gross domestic product expanded by a quarterly 0.4 per cent in the three months through June, compared with 0.2 per cent in the previous quarter.

The report comes a week after the Bank of England raised interest rates for the second time since the financial crisis, saying recent data showed the economy had rebounded from the first quarter’s “temporary” slowdown.

U.K. economic growth lags that of other major industrialized nations amid uncertainty over Britain’s departure from European Union. Economists fear consumers and businesses will restrict spending amid growing concerns that Britain will leave the bloc without an agreement on future trading rules.