Economy’s contraction
Britain’s economy contracted slightly in the three months ending in July, although the estimate was distorted by an extra public holiday and another postponed day off to mark Queen Elizabeth’s 60 years on the throne, a leading think-tank said.
Gross domestic product fell by 0.2 per cent in the period, after official data showed a sharp contraction of 0.7 per cent between April and June, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research said in its monthly estimate.
“These estimates suggest the UK’s large negative output gap is widening,” NIESR said. “We do not expect output to pass its peak in early 2008 until 2014.”