Construction output grew much faster than first thought in the second quarter of 2011, official data showed last Friday, raising the prospect of an upward revision to second quarter GDP later this month. The Office for National Statistics said construction output rose by 2.3% quarter-on-quarter, faster than the 0.5% estimate used to calculate preliminary GDP data released last month. Year-on-year, construction output grew by 0.8%, rather than contracting by 1.4%. Construction makes up about 6% of the British economy. Weaker than expected second-quarter industrial output data is already expected to trim about 0.03% points of the preliminary 0.2% estimate of Q2 GDP growth. The ONS will publish a second estimate of Q2 GDP, which will also include revisions to service sector output, on August 26. The upward revision to second quarter construction output was driven by late returns from businesses, the ONS said. First quarter construction output also fell less than previously estimated, contracting by 2.8% rather than 3.4%. Quarterly growth rates for most of 2010, apart from the third quarter, were revised higher as well