The British economy shrank for the sixth successive quarter in the three months to September but at a slower pace than previously estimated, official data showed on Wednesday.
The Office for National Statistics said GDP fell by 0.3 percent in Q3 versus a preliminary reading of a contraction of 0.4 percent. The upward revision was expected by analysts who had been surprised by the weakness of the initial print as surveys had pointed to the economy already returning to growth.
Britain's economy has now contracted for six consecutive quarters, the longest unbroken stretch of declines since records began in 1955, when many of its major trading partners have already pulled out of recession.
On the year, GDP was down 5.1 percent versus a previous reading of down 5.2 percent. BoE Governor Mervyn King said this week that while growth may return soon, it would take a long time for output to get back to where it might have been without the crisis.
Most analysts are expecting the economy will return to growth at the turn of the year and some said even the latest Q3 reading would be revised higher once statisticians have more complete data.
"We hope these numbers are something clearer to the truth," said David Page, economist at Investec. "But we would still harbour some scepticism that this figure is set in stone forever."
For a graphic comparing quarterly GDP figures with the United States and the euro zone, click:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/119/UK_GDPRV1109.gif
Firms continued to run down inventories at a very sharp pace for the fourth straight quarter, marking a record decline over the last year. This could boost hopes of a rebound in growth once destocking was over but the ONS pointed out that inventories fell for 11 consecutive quarters in the 1990s recession.
Household spending stabilised, not falling for the first time since the start of 2008, but some analysts had been expecting a bigger lift given the strength of recent retail sales figures.
"The economy is slowly improving and we will probably see growth in Q4 but I don't think it will be anything to write home about," said Ross Walker, economist at RBS.
Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee member Andrew Sentance told BBC Radio earlier on Wednesday that there are signs the British economy returned to growth in the second half of this year.
