The UK economy grew at a slower rate between April and June than previously thought, official figures revealed today, as the country's recovery nearly ground to a halt.
Gross domestic product (GDP) - a broad measure for the total economy - grew 0.1% in the second quarter, downwardly revised from previous estimates of 0.2%, the Office for National Statistics said.
The weak growth was driven by a 0.8% drop in consumer spending, the biggest drop in more than two years, and a 1.2% decline in the production industries, the ONS said.
The ONS also said that growth in the first quarter of 2011 was revised down to 0.4% from 0.5% and the recession in 2008/09 was much deeper than previously thought but ended a quarter earlier than first estimated.
The revisions come following an annual rebalancing of accounts known as the Blue Book exercise, which involves changes to methodology.
The troubling data is released amid mounting fears over the health of the world economy, driven by the euro zone debt crisis, sluggish growth in the US and weak industry data in the UK and Europe.
