Investing.com - The U.K. economy grew more than initially expected in the fourth quarter of 2014, underlining optimism over the health of the economy, official data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the U.K.’s Office for National Statistics said gross domestic product expanded at a seasonally adjusted rate of 0.6% in the final three months of 2014, up from a previous estimate of 0.5% and above expectations for a 0.5% reading.
Annualized GDP grew at a rate of 3.0% in the fourth quarter, up from an initial forecast of 2.8% and beating expectations for a 2.7% increase.
Total business investment declined by a seasonally adjusted 0.9% in the fourth quarter, compared to an initial estimate of a 1.4% drop.
GBP/USD was trading at 1.4774 from around 1.4771 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7276 from 0.7272 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets remained mixed. London’s FTSE 100 shed 0.25%, the EURO STOXX 50 tacked on 0.2%, France's CAC 40 added 0.1%, while Germany's DAX inched up 0.2%.