The UK economy grew by 0.3% in the three months to February as manufacturers increased their stockpiles due to uncertainty surrounding by Brexit.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said manufacturers were "changing the timing of their activities".
Growth was expected to rise 0.2% during the period, but the ONS' head of GDP Rob Kent-Smith stressed that growth was "modest".
He said: "Services again drove the economy, with a continued strong performance in IT. Manufacturing also continued to recover after weakness at the end of last year with the often-erratic pharmaceutical industry, chemicals and alcohol performing well in recent months."
On a monthly basis, the economy rose 0.2% compared with forecasts of 0%.
