LONDON, May 10 (Xinhua) -- Britain's gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 0.5 percent in the first quarter of 2019, up from 0.2 percent in the previous quarter, according to preliminary figures released on Friday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

ONS said the increase was largely the result of stockpiling as companies had stepped up production to build up inventories in preparation for Brexit.

Private consumption, government consumption and gross capital formation all contributed positively to GDP growth. Business investment increased by 0.5 percent following four straight quarters of contraction.

ONS also said that net trade weighed on the economy in the first quarter of 2019. Due to the sheer volume of imports of unspecified goods, Britain's trade deficit grew to 3.4 percent of nominal GDP, the widest in more than 50 years.

The UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond said the GDP figures showed that the country's economy remained robust. "We are investing at record levels in our infrastructure and skills to boost productivity and wages," he said.

Tej Parikh, senior economist at the UK-based Institute of Directors, said that this growth could well be just "a flash in the pan."

"In the second quarter, many firms will be keen to run down their Brexit caches, which will drag on economic growth," he warned.

Garry Young, an economist at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), commented: "It is unlikely that the pace of growth will pick up significantly as long as Brexit-related uncertainty is hampering forward planning in business and government."

The growth rate in the first quarter of this year is in line with the Bank of England's latest forecast that the UK economy will grow by between 1.2 percent and 1.5 percent in 2019.