The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed the UK economy grew by 0.2 per cent during the second quarter of the year.

Growth in GDP during the first quarter of 0.5 per cent, giving the UK total growth of 0.7 per cent in the first six months of the year.

According to the ONS, the output of production industries reduced GDP growth during the second quarter by 0.2 percentage points.

The slowdown in production industries growth was attributed to maintenance programmes in the North Sea and mild weather in April and May.

A fall in manufacturing output in April could have been affected by the royal wedding bank holiday and supply constraints as a result of the Japanese earthquake.

The government body also highlighted continued weakness in the retail sector, with sales volumes remaining flat over the past 12 months.

Ian McCafferty, chief economic adviser at business trade body CBI, said, 'This is the third consecutive quarter in which special factors, such as the winter weather, unseasonal North Sea maintenance, the Japanese tsunami and an extra bank holiday, have made interpretation of the data more difficult and have depressed economic activity over the short term.

'There is likely to be some bounce back over the autumn, but it's clear that the underlying economic recovery remains fragile and difficult.'

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