U.K.'s GDP grew by 0.4% in the fourth quarter of 2017, 0.1 percentage point lower than preliminary estimate, according to the second estimate from the Office for National Statistics.
Growth compared to a consensus forecast of 0.5%. For full year 2017, Britain's economy grew by an estimated 1.7%, also down 0.1 percentage point from the first estimate. Annual GDP grew by 1.9% in 2016. Household spending grew at its slowest annual pace since 2012, expanding by 1.8% in 2017, partly reflecting increased prices faced by consumers, the ONS said.
Third-quarter GDP growth in 2017 was also 0.4%.
Growth in the last quarter of 2017 was driven primarily by business services and finance within the services sector, which expanded by 0.6%, the ONS said. Production increased by 0.5% while construction declined by 0.7% on a quarterly basis. Business investment growth in the U.K. was flat on a quarterly basis, but rose 2.1% year on year in the fourth quarter of 2017.
