Britain's economy unexpectedly ground to a halt in the second quarter, its weakest performance since the recession of the early 1990s, revised official data showed today.
The Office for National Statistics said GDP was unchanged on the quarter in the three months to June, down from a preliminary estimate of 0.2 per cent growth and below analysts' forecasts for a revision to 0.1 per cent growth.
That was the weakest since the second quarter of 1992 when the economy was in the throes of its last recession and the figures are likely to boost expectations that interest rates will need to prevent a deep and protracted slowdown.
However, Bank of England policymakers are already factoring in the economy standing still over the next year or so and have said growth needs to slow to tame inflationary pressures.
Still, Prime Minister Gordon Brown will no longer be able to boast of the economy growing continuously since the Labour government came to power in 1997.
On the year, GDP was 1.4 percent higher, revised down from an initial reading of 1.6 percent and the weakest since Q4 1992.
The downward revisions to the preliminary estimate of GDP were across the board. Britain's mighty services sector grew by just 0.2 per cent on the quarter, its poorest showing since the fourth quarter of 1995.
Manufacturing output fell by 0.8 per cent on the quarter, the weakest since the first quarter of 2005. Construction output, which has been hard hit by the housing market slump, fell by 1.1 per cent on the quarter -- the worst since Q3 2005.
Household spending fell 0.1 per cent on the quarter, its weakest since the second quarter of 2005.