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The UK economy expanded in the first quarter as activity showed greater resilience than forecast earlier in the year, even as output contracted more than expected in March.

Gross domestic output, or GDP, rose by 0.1 per cent between the last quarter of 2022 and the first three months of this year, unchanged from the previous quarter, according to data published by the Office for National Statistics on Friday.

On Thursday, the Bank of England said it expected the economy to stagnate in both the first and second quarters with growth accelerating in the rest of the year.

ONS data showed that the quarterly rate was boosted by growth in January, revised up to 0.5 per cent, while output fell by 0.3 per cent between February and March, as falling services output weighed on growth.