Britain’s economy emerged from recession in the third quarter with robust growth of 1 percent, official data confirmed yesterday, in what was set to be only a brief respite from world financial strains.
“UK gross domestic product (GDP) in volume terms increased by 1 percent between the second and third quarter of 2012, unrevised from the previously published estimate,” the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
An initial ONS estimate last month showed Britain powered out of its longest double-dip recession since the 1950s with a GDP gain of 1 percent between July and September.
But Britain’s strongest quarter-on-quarter rate for five years came thanks to factors such as the Olympic Games.
“Quarterly UK GDP growth in [the third quarter] has been left unrevised in the second estimate at a solid 1 percent, but most of this reflected temporary factors and evidence is building that activity in the fourth quarter has relapsed,” said Vicky Redwood, the chief UK economist at the Capital Economics research group.
“The spending breakdown showed a decent rise in consumer spending of 0.6 percent quarter on quarter, but at least part of this reflected an Olympics boost.”
The ONS added that British GDP had contracted by 0.1 percent in the third quarter on an annual basis, compared with initial estimates of zero growth. – Sapa-AFP