United Kingdom falls into double-dip recession

United Kingdom falls into double-dip recession

By Mike Obel
International Business Times

The United Kingdom, Europe’s third-largest economy, fell into recession in the first quarter as its gross domestic product fell 0.2 percent, a contraction that followed the fourth-quarter’s 0.3 percent decline.
The decline, which is the country’s second since the Great Recession, stemmed from weakness in the construction sector, the nation’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) said Wednesday.

Analysts polled by Bloomberg News expected GDP to grow 0.1 percent in the first quarter.

The ONS also said Britain’s economy has not expanded at all over the last year, and since the third quarter of 2010 — when Britain’s economy had grown for five consecutive quarters following the 2008-09 recession — real GDP has actually contracted by 0.2 percent.
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/333094/20120425/recession-britain-u-k-gdp-gross-domestic.htm