Figures show UK economy shrank in last quarter of 2011

The UK economy contracted by 0.2 per cent in the final quarter of 2011, the Office for National Statistics said yesterday.

The disappointing fourth-quarter performance represents a strong slowdown on the 0.6 per cent growth in the previous quarter.

Over the course of 2011 as a whole, GDP increased by just 0.9 per cent, much slower than the 2.1 per cent growth in 2010.

It will fuel fears that the UK’s economy is heading for a mild recession, with economists widely expecting further falls in the first quarter of this year as the economy struggles under the austerity measures and the euro zone debt crisis. – (PA)