The U.K. economy unexpectedly contracted for the second straight time in the first quarter, the Office for National Statistics showed Wednesday.
Gross domestic product dropped 0.2 percent sequentially, while economists were forecasting a 0.1 percent expansion. That follows a 0.3 percent drop in the fourth quarter of 2011.
Output of the production industries fell 0.4 percent, after logging a decrease of 1.3 percent in the previous quarter.
Likewise, construction sector output dipped at a faster pace of 3 percent, following a drop of 0.2 percent. Meanwhile, services output grew 0.1 percent, offsetting a decrease of 0.1 percent in the prior quarter.
On a yearly basis, GDP remained flat in the first quarter. Economists had expected an annual 0.3 percent growth.
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