UK Economy Shrinks By 0.2 Pct In 4th Quarter

LONDON (AP) — Official data show that Britain's economy contracted by 0.2 percent in the last three months of last year, a worse than expected result which nonetheless underlined the feeble state of the country's economy.

The market consensus had been that GDP would fall by 0.1 percent in the quarter.

Wednesday's data from the Office for National Statistics are likely to confirm analysts' belief that the Bank of England will authorize spending more billions next month to stimulate the economy.