UK economy shrinks slightly less than feared

The UK economy shrank marginally less than thought in the third quarter, but revised figures have reconfirmed the longest recession in British history.

New estimates from the Office for National Statistics showed a 0.3% fall in gross domestic product in the three months to the end of September.

The result is only a slight improvement on the shock 0.4% fall revealed a month ago.

The ONS revises its GDP estimates on a monthly basis as more output data comes to hand.

But the latest figure still falls well short of economists' initial forecasts for 0.2% growth in the period.

The upward revision was driven by an improvement in the key services sector, which saw a 0.1% drop instead of the 0.2% decline previously shown.

The manufacturing sector also gained an upgrade built on the success of the car scrappage scheme.

Britons are now left to pin their recovery hopes on a strong final quarter, but the country is already lagging behind other developed economies.

France, Germany, Japan and the US have all already enjoyed an upturn in GDP, putting pressure on the Government.

But figures published on Tuesday revealed the US recovery was slower than expected in the third quarter, with growth revised down to an annual rate of 2.8% from an initial estimate of 3.5%.



Source: news.sky.com

Publication date: 11/26/2009

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