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UK economy grows 0.6% in Q4

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Date: Friday 28 Mar 2008

LONDON (ShareCast) - The British economy grew 0.6% in the fourth quarter of last year, figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed today.

But expansion in the third quarter was revised down to 0.6% from a previous estimate of 0.7%, taking the overall rate of growth for 2007 down to 3% from initial estimates of 3.1%.

The level of GDP in the fourth quarter of 2007 is now 2.8% higher than the fourth quarter of 2006, said the statistics office, a level not seen since the second quarter of 2006.

Today’s numbers matched expectations, with analysts noting that growth remains within the so-called trend rate, put at between 0.6% and 0.7%.

The report also showed that household expenditure rose just 0.1% during the three month period, down from 0.8% the quarter before, and by 2.4% on the same quarter of 2006 versus 3.5% in Q3.

Elsewhere, industrial output increased by 0.2% in the fourth quarter following a 0.3% drop in the prior period. Growth of 2.8% in electricity, gas and water supplies was offset by a flat read for the manufacturing sector.