London, May 29 (IANS): British gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.3 percent in the first quarter of 2015, unrevised from the previous estimate published a month ago, said the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Thursday.

The quarterly growth pace was much less than the 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014, as well as slower than the market expectation consensus of a 0.4-percent increase. The lackluster performance of net trade is one of the main reasons constraining the growth.

Data showed that British production output rose by 0.1 percent in Q1 2015 when compared to the three months prior. Service sector output increased 0.4 percent, while construction decreased by 1.1 percent over the same period, Xinhua reported.

In expenditure terms, British household expenditure in the first quarter of 2015 grew by 0.5 percent when compared to the three previous months. The government's final consumption expenditure and gross fixed capital formation increased by 0.6 percent and 3.9 percent respectively, figures showed.

The most optimistic news was that business investment grew by 1.7 percent in Q1 2015, far better than the previous quarter's decrease of 0.9 percent.

However, exports declined by 0.3 percent, and imports increased by 2.3 percent on a quarter-on-quarter basis, data also showed. In terms of contribution to growth, net trade in Q1 dragged the economic growth by 0.9 percentage points.

Britain's GDP was estimated to have increased by 2.8 percent in 2014, compared with 2013, the same as the previously published estimate, said ONS.

The British statistics department releases three estimates for its quarterly GDP data.