THE UK economy shrunk between July and September this year, after previous estimates said there had been no growth, raising fears of a recession.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said it now thinks gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 0.1% instead of remaining flat at 0%.
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GDP measures the value of goods and services produced in the UK and also estimates the size and growth of the economy.
The latest revised figures spark fears the UK economy could be heading for recession after economists had been expecting growth of 0.2%.
A country is technically in recession after two three-month periods of a shrinking economy.
GDP also showed no growth between April to June this year, revised down from a previously estimated increase of 0.2%.
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Darren Morgan, ONS direct of economic statistics, said: “The latest data from both our regular monthly business survey and VAT returns show the economy performed slightly less well in the last two quarters than our initial estimates.
“The broader picture, though, remains one of an economy that has been little changed over the last year.
“The latest VAT data, which takes a little time to receive and process means we now estimate the economy showed no growth in the second quarter, with weaker performances from smaller businesses, particularly those in both hospitality and IT than first shown.
“We also now estimate the economy contracted slightly in the third quarter, when we previously reported no growth, with later returns from our business survey showing film production, engineering & design and telecommunications all performing a little worse than we initially thought.”
