The UK economy’s nosedive during the recession was even steeper than first feared, official figures showed today.
Output slumped 6.4 per cent from its peak in the first three months of 2008 - bigger than the 6.2 per cent slide previously estimated, revised data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed.
The economy began its pull-out from the record slump in the final quarter of 2009 and grew by 0.3 per cent in the opening three months of 2010 - in line with earlier estimates.
Separate data showed that services output fell by 0.3 per cent in April, in line with private sector surveys that had shown disruption from Iceland's volcanic ash cloud.
The ONS also released first-quarter current account data, which showed that Britain's deficit with the rest of the world widened to £9.628 billion in the last three months of 2009, more than twice as much as expected.
This compareswith a surplus of £521 million in the fourth quarter of 2009.