UK Economy Rebounds In January Following Dismal December

This comes after a dismal end to 2018 which saw GDP growth at -0.4% in December and just 0.2% in November, while rolling three-month growth remained subdued at 0.2%.

The services sector saw 0.3% growth in January, with output in IT (1.7% growth), wholesale and retail (1.4% growth) all increasing for the month.

Meanwhile, the largest negative contributor to growth within services was professional, scientific and technical activities, which contracted by 1.3%.

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The production and manufacturing sectors were also positive contributors at 0.6% and 0.8% respectively, while construction saw the biggest turnaround, with 2.8% growth following 2.8% negative growth the previous month. However, agriculture was the only industry to see negative growth in January, at -1.3%.

But over the three months to January, the services sector was the main, and the only positive, contributor of GDP growth, at 0.38 percentage points (0.5% growth).

Despite a positive start to 2019, the production and construction sectors had negative contributions to GDP growth between November and January, contracting by 0.8% and 0.6% respectively.

UK GDP growth drops to weakest level since 2012 as Brexit uncertainty weighs

The UK economy has slowed on a rolling three-month basis as the 29 March Brexit deadline moves closer, with consumers and businesses both feeling uncertain on which way the impending decision will go.

Head of GDP at the ONS, Rob Kent-Smith, said: "Across the latest three months, growth remained weak with falls in manufacture of metal products, cars and construction repair work all dampening economic growth.

"These were offset by strong performances in wholesale, IT and health services. This sluggish growth came despite the economy bouncing back from a weak December."