UK 2011 GDP Revised Down To 0.8%

LONDON -- The U.K. economy expanded less than initially thought in 2011, fresh data showed Friday.

The Office for National Statistics said the economy expanded 0.8% in 2011, compared with a previous estimate of 0.9%.

The ONS said it revised down its estimates for growth in the first and third quarters, while the latest data confirmed its initial estimate that the economy shrank 0.2% in the final three months of the year.

The contraction in the fourth quarter was driven by falling output in the production and construction sectors and a fall in business investment. Business investment fell by GBP1.7 billion to GBP28.7 billion in the fourth quarter.

However, household consumption rose 0.5% as shoppers took advantage of sales. That's the first quarterly rise in consumption since the second quarter of 2010, the ONS said.

Despite the economy's weak performance in the fourth quarter, the U.K. now looks likely to avoid recession.

A survey of manufacturers by the Confederation of British Industry, published Thursday, was the latest in a series of positive business surveys that suggest economic output will rebound in the first three months of 2012.

The European Commission, the European Union's executive arm, said Thursday it estimates that U.K. gross domestic product will expand by 0.1% in each of the first two quarters of the year, and 0.6% for 2012 as a whole.