UK officially emerges from recession

26 Oct 2012, 6:54 am   -   Source: AAP
Share This
0 
+ Comment
0

Britain's GDP is estimated to have increased by 1.0 per cent in Q3 2012 compared with Q2 2012, the Office for National Statistics says.

RELATED

Britain has exited its longest double-dip recession since the 1950s, its economy returning to growth in the third quarter with a strong gain of 1.0 per cent.

Gross domestic product, or combined value of produced goods and services, rose much stronger than expected during the July-September period after contracting in the previous three quarters, according to official data released on Thursday.

Market expectations had been for the economy of Britain, which is not part of the eurozone, to have expanded by 0.6 per cent in the third quarter compared with the second after falling into a double-dip recession in late 2011.

"GDP was estimated to have increased by 1.0 per cent in Q3 2012 compared with Q2 2012," the Office for National Statistics said in a statement.

"The largest contribution to the increase came from the services sector. There was also an increase in activity in the production sector. Activity in the construction sector fell."

Growth was also affected by one-off factors, including the London 2012 Olympic Games and rebounding activity after an extra public holiday for Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee, the ONS said.

Output was meanwhile flat in the third quarter compared with the equivalent period in 2011, it added.

Britain escaped from a deep downturn in late 2009 but fell back into recession at the end of 2011.

GDP contracted by 0.4 per cent in the second quarter of this year after shrinking by 0.3 per cent in the first - and by 0.4 per cent in the final quarter of 2011.

Despite emerging from recession, economists warn Britain faces considerable difficulties, not least from tight credit conditions and worries about an ongoing debt crisis in the eurozone, a key trading partner.

Other major headwinds include rising inflation on higher energy and food prices, the uncertain jobs market and ongoing austerity measures from Britain's coalition government.

  • Follow us: 
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on Youtube

Join the Discussion

Name
City / Suburb E.g. Artarmon, Sydney
Title
Comment
You have characters remaining.
Validation
What's this?
This is a captcha-picture. It is used to prevent mass-access by robots.
All submitted comments become the property of SBS. They are moderated, so we reserve the right to edit comments and remove HTML tags. Not all submitted comments will be published. Publication does not mean we endorse the opinions expressed. Please read our terms and conditions for more information.