2012.05.24 10:36:01 DATA SNAP: UK Recession Deeper Than Expected In First Quarter

By Ainsley Thomson and Nicholas Winning Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--The U.K. economy slid even deeper into recession than previously thought in the first quarter, official statistics showed Thursday, piling additional pressure on the government to do more to spur growth. In its second estimate of the economy's first-quarter performance, the Office for National Statistics said gross domestic product shrank 0.3% between January and March, 0.1 percentage points lower than its preliminary estimate on April 25. GDP also shrank 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2011, meaning the economy is in technical recession, which is defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction. On an annual basis GDP was revised down to show a fall of 0.1% from the previous flat reading--the annual fall is the first since the fourth quarter of 2009. Thursday's figures were weaker than expected, with economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires expecting quarterly and annual GDP to be unchanged since the first estimate. News that the recession is deeper than thought comes two days after the International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde told the government that it should slow its austerity program if the economy's prospects deteriorate. Wednesday's data show that since the coalition government came into power in May 2010 and immediately embarked on its austerity program the economy has grown by just 0.3%--highlighting the difficulties faced by governments in promoting growth while tackling large budget deficits. By Ainsley Thomson and Nicholas Winning, Dow Jones Newswires, 44 20 7842 9318; ainsley.thomson@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires May 24, 2012 04:36 ET (08:36 GMT)