Business News
British figures confirm negative growth at end of 2011
Feb 24, 2012, 11:38 GMT
London - British figures confirmed Friday that economic growth contracted by 0.2 per cent in the last quarter of 2011, heightening uncertainty over much hoped for signs of recovery in 2012.
The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) are identical with a first estimate given in January.
The figures for the last quarter of 2011 were considered to have been particularly disappointing, coinciding with the pre-Christmas period and following growth of 0.6 per cent in the previous quarter.
Economists are currently unsure about whether Britain's economy will continue to deteriorate in the first quarter of 2012, after encouraging industry surveys in recent months.
'A return to growth in the first quarter is by no means guaranteed, and the country clearly faces a significant risk of sliding back into another recession,' said Chris Williamson of finance information service Markit.
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