Q4 UK business investment slips as oil prices fall; GDP growth steady at 0.5%

London

INVESTMENT by businesses in Britain fell at its sharpest rate in nearly six years in the last quarter of 2014, hit by lower investment in the petroleum sector as global oil prices fell.

As estimated in a preliminary reading, British gross domestic product (GDP) between October and December grew by a quarterly 0.5 per cent, slowing from 0.7 per cent in the third quarter, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Thursday.

That was the slowest quarterly growth rate in a year.

In year-on-year terms, growth was 2.7 per cent, also unchanged from last month's preliminary estimate …