The decline in UK GDP growth in the first quarter of 2012 was revealed to be worse than expected today, after the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported a fall of 0.3%.
The ONS revised down the contraction from an initial reading which showed a fall of 0.2%.
Prior to the announcement, markets had been expecting the figure to remain unchanged.
The figure confirms analysts’ fears of a double-dip recession, after the UK economy shrunk by 0.2% in Q4.
The UK was last in recession in 2009 and, despite a strong 2010, has failed to recover in the way many had hoped.
Parts of the UK economy are showing severe declines, with the ONS noting the output from the construction industry fell by 4.8% in Q1.
The reading will no doubt lead to further calls for additional stimulus, with the Bank of England already contemplating further quantitative easing.
