P.M. BRIEFING : Figures Hint of British Recession

British government figures released today showed the biggest drop in economic output in 10 years, confirming a widely held belief that the economy is headed for at least a mild recession.

The Central Statistical Office said gross domestic product fell a provisional, seasonally adjusted 1% in the July-September period compared with the previous quarter.

This put year-on-year growth at just 0.5%. However, some analysts said the figures were better than had been expected.

Bill Martin, economist with finance house UBS-Phillips and Drew, said today’s economic statistics are in line with what he expected. If a drop in North Sea oil output were stripped out, “the fall was very modest indeed,” he said.