Northern Ireland's economy 'grows slightly'

The Northern Ireland economy grew slightly in the last three months of 2012 according to results from a new survey published on Wednesday.

The Northern Ireland Composite Economic Index (NICEI) covering the period October - December 2012 estimates that economic activity increased by 0.4%.

The index has risen in three of the last four quarters with an annual rise of 0.3% over the year.

Economic activity is now back at 2004 levels.

This suggests a weak recovery following a very deep recession.

This is the second set of results from the index, which is the official measure of the region's overall economic performance.