Pound rises as UK growth is revised up - as it happened

The pound rises against the dollar after UK growth in the first quarter of 2018 is revised up to 0.2% from 0.1%

• Euro jumps against dollar after EU leaders agree migration deal
• Energy prices drive rise in eurozone inflation to 2% in June
• US consumer spending edges higher in May
• EU leaders hail summit victory on migration but details scant
• BAE Systems wins 20bn Australian warship contract

2.39pm BST

The bell has gone on Wall Street and here's how it looks:

2.31pm BST

The pound is still going (relatively) strong against the dollar, up 0.5% at $1.3145.

It is not doing so well against the euro, down 0.1% at a1.1290.

2.24pm BST

Over in the US, consumers only slightly increased their spending in May - despite rising wages - as prices increased at the fastest rate in more than six years.

Solid US personal income +0.4% in May.
Real disposable income +0.2% & real consumer spend flat.
Solid but slowing momentum for consumer spending +2.3% y/y -- slowest since Mar 2016. Growth in Q2 ~2.8% (saar) much better than +0.9% Q1.
Our Q2 #GDP tracker down to +4.3% from +5%. pic.twitter.com/27VSqKAtaZ

1.52pm BST

Barely a week after the EU announced a debt deal for Greece - saying the country's long-running economic crisis was over - the International Monetary Fund has sounded the alarm. Helena Smith reports from Athens.

We are concerned this improvement in debt indicators " can only be sustained over the long run under what appear to be very optimistic - maybe ambitious is a better word - assumptions on GDP growth and Greece's ability to run high primary surpluses for an extended period of time.

1.28pm BST

Time for another look at European markets, boosted today by the news that EU leaders had agreed a migration deal in Brussels, easing fears of political instability.

12.37pm BST

The insurance firm Lloyd's of London has announced that its chief executive Dame Inga Beale will step down next year after five years.

In her five years at Lloyd's, Inga has set in motion a series of changes aimed at modernising the market and making it more efficient and inclusive. Her boldness and persistence have generated the momentum required to bring about real change. I have very much enjoyed working with Inga, and I am grateful for the support she has given me in my first year as chairman"

Inga's leaving date will be confirmed in due course and the search for her successor is underway.

The decision to leave has been a tough one and when the time comes I will miss the energy, innovative spirit and expertise that I come across every working day. Leading Lloyd's is an honour and I am proud to have played a part in ensuring that it remains relevant and fit for purpose for the future.

12.14pm BST

As the first half of 2018 draws to a close, analysts at Hargreaves Lansdown have done a review of markets.

The FTSE is slightly below where it started the year, but thanks to dividends, investors are still in positive territory. Despite fears of overvaluation, the US has proved the best performing major stock market this year, though most of the returns for UK investors have come from a strengthening dollar.

After a strong run, the German stock market has fallen from grace, as cracks in the eurozone resurfaced, and trade tensions have stoked concerns over the exporting giants of the German economy. A collapse in the share price of Deutsche Bank hasn't helped matters either.

In the UK, Ocado has been the stand-out performer. After sealing a deal with the US grocery giant Kroger, the online supermarket has thrust its way into the FTSE 100. Its meteoric rise has inflicted serious pain on the hedge funds who bet against it, and they will still be licking their considerable wounds.

At the other end of proceedings, a profit warning and a chief executive resignation has done for the Micro Focus share price. Likewise the shine has come off Standard Life Aberdeen following last year's merger.

11.49am BST

The pick-up in eurozone inflation is another factor behind a stronger euro today, on top of the EU deal on migrants, says John Dolan from currency firm Fexco Corporate Payments:

The Euro enjoyed a boost from the overnight deal in Brussels, and this was consolidated by the news that eurozone inflation has ticked up.

While the increase in eurozone inflation to 2.0% was widely expected, and will do little to soften Mario Draghi's dovish dogma in the short term, the combination of economic growth and rising prices will eventually force the ECB into normalising monetary policy.

11.12am BST

Annual inflation in the eurozone edged up to 2% in June from 1.9% in May according to the 'flash' Eurostat, the region's statistics office.

It is the highest rate in more than a year, as higher energy prices pushed price growth above the European Central Bank's target of just below 2%. Inflation was also pushed up by higher prices of food, alcohol and tobacco.

10.46am BST

The number of mortgages approved for house purchase rose to a four-month high of 64,526 in May, according to figures from the Bank of England.

It was up from 62,941 in April and beat economists expectations of 62,200 approvals.

10.29am BST

Jeremy Thomson-Cook, chief economist at WorldFirst, is not impressed by the upward revision to UK GDP and says it shouldn't be soothing fears.

Headlines can be misleading and while an upgrade is always welcome, it comes purely down to a revision to the contribution of the construction sector which contracted by only a miserable 0.8% against a previously abhorrent estimate of 2.7%.

Q1 is still the quarter of the 'Beast from the East' and sizeable disruption to consumption habits as a result and while Q2 data will be higher, it is unlikely to do anything than confirm the malaise at the heart of the UK's economic engine.

10.24am BST

UK growth was revised up after more the ONS received more data from the construction firms, which showed a fall in output in the sector was smaller than previously estimated.

Construction output fell by 0.8% between January and March, and not by a sharper 2.7% according to earlier estimates from the ONS. It was the weakest growth since the third quarter of 2012.

While there is some evidence of an impact from the bad weather on this industry, our initial analysis shows weakness in construction throughout the quarter, not just the period during the bad weather.

10.09am BST

The pound is up 0.7% against the dollar to $1.3169, building on earlier gains after the ONS revised up UK growth in the first quarter to 0.2% from 0.1%.

Sterling was briefly up against the euro, but has edged lower again, down 0.1% at a1.1296.

9.33am BST

Breaking: The UK economy grew by 0.2% in the first quarter of 2018, slightly faster than the 0.1% previously estimated by the Office for National Statistics.

Rob Kent-Smith, head of GDP at the ONS, explains the revision:

GDP growth was revised up slightly in the first three months of 2018, with later construction data, and significantly improved methods for measuring the sector, nudging up growth.

These improved methods, introduced as part of ONS's annual update to its figures, will lead to better early estimates of the construction sector with smaller revisions in the future.

9.20am BST

MPs on the influential Treasury committee have issued a warning to the Bank of England over the lack of women in senior roles.

In the first intervention of its kind, the committee warned it could block the appointment of male candidates to its main policymaking committees.

Related: MP warns Bank of England over lack of diversity in senior staff

8.46am BST

Downing Street says BAE Systems' Australian shipbuilding win is the biggest Naval defence contract for a decade.

PM @theresa_may has welcomed a shipbuilding contract worth up to 20 billion between BAE Systems and the Australian government as the biggest of its kind for a decade: https://t.co/2EWtIBRGtH

8.39am BST

British defence manufacturer, BAE Systems, is one of the FTSE 100's biggest risers this morning after it won a 20bn contract to build Australian warships.

The company will build nine new ships at the Osborne Naval Shipyard in Adelaide. The ships will be modelled on BAE's Type 26 global combat ship and will be known as the Hunter class.

Related: Britain's BAE Systems wins contract to build Australian warships

8.21am BST

Trading is underway across Europe and the mood is upbeat:

8.02am BST

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business.

EU28 leaders have agreed on #euco conclusions incl. migration.

The migrant crisis in Europe threatened German Chancellor Angela Merkel's fragile coalition, which was in danger of collapsing if she left the summit without a deal. The euro picked up from a1.157 to a1.162 in the space of a few short minutes.

Related: EU leaders hail summit victory on migration but details scant