World News Engine: British economy shrinks 0.5% in Q4

British economy shrinks 0.5% in Q4

Britain's economy shrank slightly less than previously thought in the fourth quarter of 2010, official data showed Tuesday, but analysts warned that it did not signal rosy times ahead.

Gross domestic product (GDP) contracted 0.5 per cent between October and December compared with the third quarter, as cold weather hampered the construction industry, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

Its third and final estimate was a slight improvement on the second estimate published last month, which said GDP had contracted by 0.6 per cent. An initial figure in January matched the final reading of minus 0.5 per cent.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast no revision to the final figure.

"GDP growth contracted by 0.5 per cent in the latest quarter, revised from a fall of 0.6 per cent previously published," the ONS said in a statement.

It added that between October and December, GDP was an unrevised 1.5 per cent higher compared with the fourth quarter of 2009.

"Slightly lesser GDP contraction than previously reported in the fourth quarter of 2010 does not fundamentally change the UK economic story," said Howard Archer, chief European economist at research group IHS Global Insight.

"The data still show that the economy suffered a marked loss of momentum at the end of 2010, which could not be attributed solely to December's bad weather.

"As such, the data fuel concerns over the underlying strength of the economy -- particularly as the fiscal squeeze had only nibbled rather than really started to bite in the fourth quarter of 2010."

World News Engine

Blog Archive

Popular Posts Today

Labels

British economy shrinks 0.5% in Q4

0 comments:

Labels

Facebook Badge