Britain emerged from a record recession in unexpectedly strong shape in the fourth quarter of 2009, revised data showed today, easing fears that the economy had only just scraped out of recession.
Gross domestic product - the value of all the goods and services produced in the economy - grew by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement.
That was stronger than the previous anaemic estimate of 0.1% expansion and beat market expectations of revised growth of 0.2%.
The fourth quarter reading, which was upgraded after revisions to services and production data, marked the end of a deep recession following six successive quarters of contraction.
Today's data also showed that the battered British economy has shrunk by 6.2% since the recession began in the second quarter of 2008, following revisions to previous quarters.
On an annual basis, British GDP shrank by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, compared with the equivalent three month period in 2008, the ONS added. That was slightly worse than the previous estimate of a 3.2% contraction, while analysts had expected the economy to shrink by a revised 3.1% on this reading.
The ONS added that the economy shrank 5% in 2009 - the biggest annual contraction on record. The government had forecast contraction of 4.75% in 2009, followed by growth of 1-1.5% this year.
