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2009-07-24 03:35:25
The UK economy contracted 0.8% between April and June, more than double the
figure economists had expected.
The contraction was much less than the 2.4% seen in the first quarter but was
still above analysts' 0.3% prediction.
The latest figures take the annual rate of decline to 5.6%, the biggest fall
since records began in 1955.
While an improvement on the previous quarter, the figures may indicate that the
recovery could take longer than previously had been expected.
Hetal Mehta, senior economic advisor to the Ernst & Young ITEM Club, said that
the data showed that hopes for a recovery had run ahead of reality.
"With credit still severely restricted, consumers and businesses continuing to
retrench and world trade yet to pick up, it is hard to see any grounds for
sustained optimism at the moment," he said.
The decline in economic output was driven by business services and finances, a
sector that has been hit hard by the financial crisis.
"We are clearly out of the abyss but still have a difficult time ahead," said
Brian Hilliard, economist at Societe Generale.