Exports help balance UK economic growth

British business investment fell at its sharpest rate in nearly six years late last year, after tumbling global oil prices hit the North Sea petroleum industry, but stronger exports helped make economic growth a bit more balanced.

Gross domestic product between October and December grew by a quarterly 0.5%, data showed, confirming a preliminary reading. That was the slowest growth rate in a year, although there have been signs the economy started 2015 more strongly.

Economists said the second consecutive quarterly fall in business investment raised questions about the recovery. The 1.4% drop in business investment was the biggest since mid-2009. Economists had expected it to rise slightly.