 The growth figure keeps Britain's economy ahead of France |
Britain's economy expanded at its fastest rate in almost three years during the final three months of 2003. Fourth quarter GDP grew by 0.9% from the figure for the previous quarter, official figures show.
The robust growth - together with strong December UK retail sales - has raised the prospect of an interest rate rise next month, analysts said.
Overall, the UK economy grew by 2.1% during 2003, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed.
World ranking
The official preliminary estimate topped market expectations for a figure of 0.8% growth in the quarter.
"I think we will definitely have a rate hike in February," said James Carrick, an economist at ABN Amro.
The latest growth figures leave the UK economy comfortably in fourth place in the world rankings, having fallen briefly behind France early last year.
The faster-than-expected annual growth also compares favourably with Germany's economy, which contracted by 0.1% last year.
Other figures released on Friday showed UK High Street sales grew by a stronger-than-expected 0.9% in December, the ONS said.
The Bank of England last raised interest rates in November last year, increasing them by a quarter percentage point to 3.75%.
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