The UK fell deeper into recession than originally estimated after revised ONS figures showed the economy shrank 0.3 per cent in the first three months of the year.
Last month, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) estimated that the UK GDP fell by 0.2 per cent in the first quarter.
ONS’s second estimate blames the slump on a 4.8 per cent decline in construction output, much worse than the initial prediction of 3 per cent.
The estimate indicates a dismal 0.1 per cent increase in household spending in the first quarter of the year. The figures also show that government spending increased by 1.6 per cent, the biggest rise since the first quarter of 2008.
“The economy is not recovering properly and with the uncertainty over Europe hanging over the outlook as well, our suspicion is the MPC [Monetary policy committee] will sanction further QE [quantitative easing] at some point later on this year,” said Philip Shaw, economist at Investec.
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