British GDP falling more than expected in the fourth quarter

Britain’s economy endured a contraction more than initially expected towards the end of last year, as it was revealed the GDP had shrunk beyond the 0.2% estimation.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) had estimated a drop of 0.2% in the fourth quarter, but the figures revealed a drop of 0.3%, providing fresh light in the fragility of Britain’s wealth.

The fall beyond 0.2% comes as a surprise to economists, as they had not been expecting any change to the 0.2% slump with Howard Archer, economist at IHS Global Insight, labelling the statistics as “disappointing”.

He said: “The sharper than previously reported drop in GDP in the fourth quarter of 2011 is obviously disappointing but it does not fundamentally change the story of an economy that saw fitful and muted overall growth in 2011, with a relapse in activity at the end of the year.”

Britain now fears it could be facing technical recession – two consecutive quarters of contraction – following its entry into the new year in a worse economic state.

The ONS revealed in the last quarter, the household expenditure increased by 0.4% while the output of the production industries fell by 1.3%. The services industries were also affected as their output slumped by 0.1% along with the construction industry which saw a fall of 0.4%.

Rajeeb Gurung