UK still in recession as output shrinks

LONDON: Britain remains the last major economy in recession according to official data released on Tuesday, although signs of recovery emerged as the country’s output shrank less than previously forecast.

The Office for National Statistics said that British gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 0.2% during the July-September period compared with the previous three-month period. Although the data was better than a previous ONS estimate of minus 0.3%, analysts’ consensus forecast had been for a revision to minus 0.1%. Britain officially ends 2009 as the only top economy in recession after the eurozone, France, Germany, Japan and the US have all emerged from a deep downturn that was sparked by the global financial crisis. “Gross domestic product contracted by 0.2% in the third quarter of 2009,” the ONS said in a statement.