Recession less deep than thought

The UK economy shrank by less than previously thought between April and June, official figures have shown.

Revised data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show the economy contracted by 0.5% during the quarter, less than the 0.7% it announced last month.

The ONS said output in the construction sector was higher than it had previously estimated.

Many economists had expected the figures to show a smaller contraction.

The original estimate of a 0.7% contraction, published in July, was greeted with some scepticism by a number of experts and by some industries that claimed they had seen little sign of such a serious economic downturn.

GDP figures show the value of all the goods and services produced in the economy. The ONS always refines its GDP calculations as more data becomes available and changes to the original estimates happen on a regular basis.

A number of analysts believe GDP will rebound in the current quarter, partly due to the impact of the Olympic games. A rise in consumer and government spending, as well as the boost from ticket sales that will be recorded in the July to September quarter, should lift growth, they say.

The UK economy is in recession having contracted for the past three quarters.