UK economic growth doubled in the second quarter, driven by stronger growth in both the services and construction sectors, according to the first quarterly estimates released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Friday.

GDP rose 0.4 percent, faster than the 0.2 percent expansion witnessed in the first quarter. The rate came in line with expectations. On a year-on-year basis, GDP rose 1.3 percent from a 1.2 percent rise seen a quarter earlier.

The dominant services output expanded by 0.5 percent. At the same time, construction works registered a quarterly growth of 0.9 per cent. Meanwhile, production fell 0.8 percent.

Industrial output in France also rose in June, driven by a recovery in oil production, according to statistical data from INSE on Friday.

Industrial output rose 0.6 percent on a monthly basis in June, reversing a 0.2 percent drop in May. Production was expected to rise by 0.5 per cent.

Similarly, manufacturing production rose 0.6 per cent, in contrast to a 0.5 per cent drop a month ago. Economists had expected production to remain stable.

Coke and refined petroleum products rose 25.2 percent, following a sharp drop of 14.4 percent in May. Construction output recorded a notable monthly expansion of 3.9%, after a decrease of 3.4%.

Another report from Insee revealed that private payroll employment grew at a moderate rate of 0.2 percent, the same pace of increase as we saw in the first quarter. Net job creation totaled $ 31,000, up from $ 46,000 in the previous quarter.

On an annualized basis, the proportion of special jobs rose by 1.3 per cent.