Uncertainty about the Budget had been blamed for such slow growth.
The UK economy is measured by gross domestic product – a measure of all the economic activity of companies, governments and people in the country.
It comes as two business groups warned business and consumer confidence had dipped going into the new year.
The CBI, one of the UK’s leading business groups which claims to represent 170,000 firms, said companies expect to “reduce both output and hiring” and raise prices as a result of the tax rises announced in the government’s Budget.
