Building figures good for growth

A shallower than feared decline of 3 per cent for Britain's builders between April and June looks likely to see growth estimates for the UK economy lifted again in the second quarter, according to official figures.

Analysts said the better construction figures meant the UK was likely to have shrunk by 0.4 per cent instead of 0.5 per cent, pointing to underlying growth when the impact of June's extra Jubilee holiday was taken into account.