British current account deficit expands less than expected; UK economy grows 0.7% in Q2

Britain's current account deficit grew less than expected in the Q2 of 2016, official figures revealed on Friday. According to the UK Office for National Statistics, the country's current account gap widened to 28.7 ($37 billion) billion pounds in the Q2, which accounted for 5.9% of GDP for the period, slightly up from 5.7% seen in the Q1. At the end of 2015, the deficit hit its record high of 7%. The preceding quarter's deficit was revised to 27 ($35 billion) billion pounds from the originally reported 32.6 ($42.3 billion) billion-pound gap. Market analysts expected Britain's current account deficit to hit 30.5 ($39.6 billion) billion pounds in the reported quarter. 

Meanwhile, the British economy expanded 0.7% in the Q2 of 2016, according to the final figures release by the ONS on the same day, up from July's estimate of 0.6%. On a yearly basis, the UK economy grew 2.1% in the Q2, following the July estimate of 2.2%. The GDP growth of 0.7% in the Q2 was mainly driven by services and production, whereas agriculture and construction did not provide sufficient support. Back in July, the ONS's forecast was that the economy would grow 0.5% quarter-over-quarter and 2.1% year-over-year in the Q2.