Economy of Britain flirts with 'triple dip' recession

The country's gross domestic product fell 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter, the Office for National Statistics said on Friday, sharper than a 0.1-percent decline forecast by analysts.

The news is a blow for Britain's Conservative-led government, which a day earlier defended its austerity program against criticism from the International Monetary Fund. It needs solid growth to meet its budget targets, keep a triple-A debt rating and bolster its chances of winning a 2015 election.

Sterling fell to its lowest in 13-1/2 months against the euro and hit a five-month low against the U.S. dollar in response to the data. The euro was also buoyed by a stronger-than-expected German Ifo sentiment survey.

“There are no positive takeaways from today's first (GDP) estimate,” said Lee Hopley, chief economist for the EEF manufacturers' association. “Even assuming some unwinding of activity from the Olympics boost in the previous quarter, this still leaves no real signs of underlying growth in the economy.”

Britain's economy is now 3.3-percent smaller than its peak in the first quarter of 2008, having recovered only about half the output lost during the financial crisis — a worse performance than most other major economies.

The country slipped back into recession in the last three months of 2011, and only emerged from it in the third quarter of 2012, after a boost from the London Olympics.

After a bout of snowy weather in January — which is likely to have hit spending and output — the risk is that the economy will continue to shrink in the first three months of this year, technically pushing it into a rare “triple dip” recession.

Britain's biggest department store group, John Lewis, said earlier on Friday that snow was responsible for its sales growth stalling in the latest week.

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