The UK economy grew by more than people expected, injecting some hope in as Britain showed its longest stretch of interrupted growth since the Great Recession began in 2008.

The British economy increased by more than expected in the fourth quarter, with household spending increasing by 0.6 percent from October through December, and exports increasing 4.6 percent, the largest rise since, according to a Bloomberg report.

Meanwhile, the gross domestic expanded 0.6 percent, which beat last month’s 0.5 percent growth and marked the eight consecutive quarter that the country saw a gain in that area, based on data released by the Office of National Statistics in London.

The news makes the UK economy a bastion of strength in a European economy that is still struggling to find its legs as the United States steams forward with its own recovery. The Bank of England plans to keep interest rates low, hoping to keep the economy pumping ahead, but it will keep a close eye on the inflation rate, including the consequences of moving it to zero.

The pound continued to stay low against the U.S. dollar, trading at $1.4774, which was down 0.2 percent from the day before.

A large part of the increase was due to a rise in wages as well as lower prices in consumer goods like food and fuel, which is boosting the incomes of Brits by about 1.4 percent in the fourth quarter.

The GDP has expanded about 3 percent in the last quarter of 2014 compared to the year before, while the economy grew 2.8 percent in 2014 and has now topped pre-crash levels from early 2008.