London - Official data showed that the UK economy grew at its fastest pace in the first quarter of 2025, a top priority for growth in the Labor government on Thursday.

The National Bureau of Statistics said growth, measured by GDP, increased by 0.7% in the first quarter of the year from the last three months of 2024, and the country's main service sector performed particularly well.

The growth in the first quarter made the UK economy the fastest growing group of seven leading industrial countries.

Growth was ahead of the market's expectations of 0.6%. This is also the biggest growth since the first quarter of 2024, when the economy grew by 0.9%.

Finance Minister Rachel Reeves welcomed the leap in growth and said the figures showed that Labour's choices began to pay off since his election last July.

"We will be the fastest growing economy in the G-7, which is very welcome, but I know there is more to do," she said during a visit to a Rolls-Royce plant in Derby, North England.

Most economists believe that the pace may slow down in the second quarter of this year, partly due to global uncertainty arising from the tariff policy of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Although most tariffs were suspended for 90 days after subsequent market turmoil, including a 10% benchmark tariff on British goods entering the United States, the context of the global economy remains highly uncertain, especially if the U.S.-China trade war persists.

Some uncertainty about the UK economy, when Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer respectively outline details of the trade agreement between the United States and Britain, he agreed to reduce taxes on British cars, steel, steel and aluminum, although Trump retained Britain's 10% baseline tariffs.

Sanjay Raja, chief UK economist at Deutsche Bank, said growth could be short-lived, especially in the second quarter where trade uncertainty will peak.

“Exporters may see higher U.S. tariffs and weaker global demand reductions,” he said.

Economists say growth could falter in the second quarter as new business taxes are collected in April. Price increases in the month, including domestic energy and water fees, are also expected to cover consumer demand.