Britain's economy slowed less than expected between April and June after a strong start to the year, despite the shock of U.S. trade tariffs and a weaker jobs market, offering help to finance minister Rachel Reeves in meeting her budget goals.

The services sector, the dominant part of the UK’s economy, helped to drive that growth in the second quarter. Construction output was robust too, offsetting weakness in the production sector.

The U.K. economy expanded by a better-than-expected 0.3% in the second quarter, according to preliminary estimates from the U.K.'s Office for National Statistics out on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had expected the country's gross domestic product (GDP) to expand by a tepid 0.