"We're expecting a fairly sluggish fourth quarter and the public deficit doesn't seem to be coming down as rapidly"
- Peter Dixon, an economist at Commerzbank AG
Britain's economy expanded less than was previously estimated, adding more pressure on Chancellor George Osborne, who pledged to support economic growth by any means necessary. The Office for National Statistics said growth figure for the third quarter had been revised to 0.9%, down from a previous estimate of 1.0%. The economy is also in danger of shrinking in the fourth quarter, as industrial production, retail sales and poor trade figures point at further weakness in the economy. The deficit, excluding government support for banks, was 17.5 billion pounds in November, compared to 16.3 billion pounds a year earlier. The only bright spot has been the construction sector, where output unexpectedly picked up in October.
"We're expecting a fairly sluggish fourth quarter and the public deficit doesn't seem to be coming down as rapidly," said Peter Dixon, an economist at Commerzbank AG in London. "The future will be one of modest fiscal retrenchment."
"Today's various data underline what the chancellor said to parliament at the autumn statement: that it's taking time, but the British economy is healing," the Treasury said in a statement. "The deficit is down by a quarter since 2010, and more than a million private-sector jobs have been created."
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