Daily Forex Fundamentals | Written by DailyFX | Dec 23 08 10:15 GMT |

U.K. Faced the Worst Recession Since 1990 as Final GDP Revised Down Final U.K. Q3 GDP was unexpectedly revised down to -0.6% q/q from -0.5% in the earlier release, while the annual rate remained up 0.3%. The downward growth revision further highlights the very dire state of the U.K. economy, even before the full impact of the recent credit crunch intensification has been felt, increasing the risk for a deep recession. The breakdown showed household consumption unrevised at -0.2% q/q, the largest quarterly fall since Q1 1995 and likely to deteriorate further over the coming quarters. Investment contracted by 2.8% q/q (revised from -2.4%) while public spending rose by 0.6% q/q (revised down from 1.0% previously). Exports were revised up, however, to show a 0.3% q/q increase (versus a 0.3% drop previously) but imports were also revised higher, to 1.0% q/q (from 0.1%), with net exports remaining a drag on overall growth. Hence, the re-balancing of the U.K. economy appears to be slow. U.K.'s large service sector recorded an output drop of -0.5% (revised from -0.4%), the largest quarterly fall since Q3 1990, with the distribution, hotels and catering sector recording output down 2.1% q/q (revised from -1.9%), the worst reading since Q3 1980. Meanwhile, the industrial sector showed negative growth of 1.4% q/q (revised from -1.1%). Overall, very weak data, paving the way for even larger growth contractions in Q4. DailyFX Disclaimer Investment in the currency exchange is highly speculative and should only be done with risk capital. Prices rise and fall and past performance is no assurance of future performance. This website is an information site only. Accordingly we make no warranties or guarantees in respect of the content. The publications herein do not take into account the investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs of any particular person. Investors should obtain individual financial advice based on their own particular circumstances before making an investment decision on the basis of the recommendations in this website. While we try to ensure that all of the information provided on this website is kept up-to-date and accurate we accept no responsibility for any use made of the information provided. All intellectual property rights are the property of Daily FX. Daily FX and its affiliates, will not be held responsible for the reliability or accuracy of the information available on this site. The content herein is provided in good faith and believed to be accurate, however, there are no explicit or implicit warranties of accuracy or timeliness made by Daily FX or its affiliates. The reader agrees not to hold Daily FX or any of its affiliates liable for decisions that are based on information from this website. Daily FX highly recommends that before making a decision, the reader collects several opinions related to the decision and verifies facts from at least several independent sources.