UK double-dip recession extends into third quarter

PanARMENIAN.Net - Britain's economic output collapsed by 0.7% in the second quarter of 2012 as the country's double-dip recession extended into a third quarter, The Guardian reports.

Across-the-board weakness in manufacturing and construction coupled with the loss of output caused by the extra bank holiday to mark the Queen's diamond jubilee were responsible for the setback, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

The first double-dip recession since the mid-1970s – when the UK was beset by high inflation and rising unemployment – meant GDP in the second quarter of 2012 was 0.8% lower than in the same three months of 2011.

Officials at the ONS said it was hard to assess the full impact of June's additional public holiday on GDP in the second quarter, but officials expect a bounce back from the loss of production in the third quarter, when the London Olympics should also provide a boost to activity.