British households endured another tough time in the three months to September as they increased their spending at the slowest annual pace since 2012, according to official data.
In figures that underscore the headwinds facing the country's economy as Brexit approaches, the Office for National Statistics confirmed that gross domestic product grew by 0.4% on the quarter.
That was in line with the median forecast in a Reuters poll of economists.
Annual growth was revised up to 1.7% from 1.5%, but the increase mostly reflected changes to data going back to the start of last year, the ONS said.
The figures showed that households saw their spending power dwindle in the three months to the end of September, forcing them to dip into their savings.
Britain has grown more slowly than other big European economies this year as higher inflation, caused largely by the fall in the value of the pound after last year's referendum decision to leave the European Union, caught up with consumers.
Wages are rising by less the inflation, adding to the strain on many households.
Today's data showed household disposable incomes, adjusted for inflation, grew by 0.2%, down from growth of 2.3% in the second quarter although better than a fall in the first three months of the year.
The household saving ratio fell to 5.2% from 5.6% in the second quarter but was higher than a low of 3.7% in the January-March period.
Household spending rose by an annual 1%, its weakest increase since early 2012.
The ONS said households had now been net borrowers - meaning their outlays were bigger than their incomes - for four successive quarters for the first time since records began in 1987.
In a sign of how the economy started the fourth quarter the ONS said Britain's dominant services sector grew by a monthly 0.2% in October after zero growth in September.
Comparing the three months to October with the same period a year ago, growth was its weakest in four years at 1.3%.
Like consumers, businesses have also turned cautious due to uncertainty about what leaving the European Union means for their exports and their ability to hire skilled workers.
Business investment rose by 0.5% in the quarter and was up 1.7% from a year earlier.
That represented slightly stronger growth than the previous reading for the third quarter but remained weaker than in recent years.
Britain's current account deficit, which reached an annual record high of 5.8% of gross domestic product last year, stood at 4.5% of GDP in the third quarter, down from 5.1% in the second quarter.
In cash terms, the deficit was £22.8 billion compared with economists' forecasts of £21.2 billion in the Reuters poll.
Economists mostly expect the deficit to narrow as the fall in the value of the pound will boost exports and reduce the imbalance between the returns on foreign investment held in Britain and on British investment held abroad.
Nonetheless, Britain's budget forecasters said last month they expected the deficit to remain high.
