Echo Business

UK economy shrinks by 0.2%

9:39am Wednesday 25th January 2012

The UK's economy suffered a worse-than-expected 0.2% contraction in the final quarter of 2011, it was revealed today, fuelling fears of another recession.

The Office for National Statistics' first estimate for the figure marks the first time the UK's gross domestic product (GDP) has fallen since the final quarter of 2010 when the Arctic weather was blamed for a 0.5% drop. The City had expected a decline of 0.1%.

The contraction was driven by a 0.9% fall in manufacturing, a 4.1% drop in electricity and gas production as the warm weather caused people to turn down heating, and a 0.5% fall in the construction sector, while the powerhouse services sector ground to a halt.

There is also likely to have been a small impact from the public sector strikes on November 30, when nearly a million working days were lost.

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