Economy shrank less than thought

The UK economy contracted at a slower pace than originally estimated in the third quarter of the year, quarterly national accounts show.

Gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter of 2009 shrank by 0.2% on the previous quarter, an improvement on the previous estimate from the Office for National Statistics of a 0.3% fall.

On an annual basis, GDP was down by 5.1% on the third quarter of 2008 — no change on the earlier estimate.

Nevertheless, the UK economy now has posted six consecutive quarterly falls since the first quarter of 2008.

Manufacturing output fell by 0.2% in third quarter on the previous quarter and was down by 10.8% on the same period in 2008.

www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/qna1209.pdf