UK economy boosted by warm weather and royal wedding in May

The UK economy benefited from a retail rebound in May as the sector received a "double boost" from warm weather and the royal wedding.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the the economy expanded 0.3% in May, while gross domestic product (GDP) rose 0.2% over the three months to May.

Both of those figures were in line with economists' expectations.

The ONS' head of national accounts, Rob Kent-Smith, said it showed a "mixed picture of the UK economy with modest growth driven by the services sector, partly offset by falling construction and industrial output".

He added: "Retailing, computer programming and legal services all performed strongly in the three months to May, while housebuilding and manufacturing both contracted.

"Services, in particular, grew robustly in May with retailers enjoying a double boost from the warm weather and the royal wedding.

"Construction also saw a return to growth after a weak couple of months."

The pound lost ground on the news to trade flat against the US dollar at 1.325.

Versus the euro, sterling was up 0.2% at 1.129.

The readings are the first in the new set of rolling estimates of GDP by the statistic agency, which previously provided only quarterly estimates of growth.