THE UK economy grew by 0.5 per cent during the fourth quarter of 2015 and by 2.2 per cent over the year, the Office for National Statistics said today.

The figure, for the last quarter of the year, leaves annual growth for 2015 at 2.2 per cent, down on 2014's growth rate of 2.9 per cent, the Office for National Statistics said.

Chancellor George Osborne said on Twitter: "With turbulence in world, there may be bumpy times ahead. UK must stick with plan that's cutting deficit, attracting business, creating jobs."

The annual pace of growth is the slowest for three years but still puts the UK economy among the fastest growing among the developed nations.

Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted: "It's good news that the economy is growing steadily, meaning more jobs and security for people. Global risks mean we will stick to our plan."

However, in November the Bank of England downgraded its growth outlook for the UK to around 2.7 per cent in 2015, down from 2.8 per cent - but the official data has fallen short of these expectations.

The latest independent forecasts from finances watchdog Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), also in November, maintained UK growth in 2015 at 2.4 per cent, which these official figures also missed.

UK growth in 2015 was the lowest since 2013.

The UK has been affected by a slowing global economy, held back by weaker expansion in emerging markets.

China's shift to an economy less driven by exports and manufacturing has slowed expansion and led to a widespread fall in commodity prices.
Oil prices have collapsed by more than 70 per cent since their peak of around 115 US dollars a barrel in summer 2014 to around 32 US dollars a barrel.
This uncertainty has led to global market volatility, which has seen the FTSE 100 Index fall by some 7 per cent since the start of the year.

This means there is little pressure on the Bank of England to raise interest rates from the rock-bottom low of 0.5 per cent, even though the US Federal Reserve raised rates in America last month for the first time in nearly a decade.
Hargreaves Landsdown senior economist Ben Bretell said: "Your interpretation of today's gross domestic product figures will depend on whether you take a 'glass half full' or a 'glass half empty' view of the UK economy.

"The bigger picture is that growth remains lacklustre, but reasonably resilient."

Markit chief economist Chris Williamson said: "Uncertainty over Brexit, weak overseas growth and financial market volatility are all creating an unsettling business environment and point to downside risks to the economy in 2016."
IHS Global Insight chief UK & European economist Howard Archer said the UK was "clearly finding growth hard to come by", adding that he expected UK expansion to be limited to 2.1 per cent this year.