UK GDP fell by 0.3 per cent between the third and fourth quarters of 2012, according to the latest quarterly national accounts from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

UK GDP fell by 0.3 per cent between the third and fourth quarters of 2012, according to the latest quarterly national accounts from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The key points from the latest release from the ONS are:

• UK gross domestic product (GDP) in volume terms was estimated to have decreased by 0.3% between the third and fourth quarter of 2012, unrevised from the previous publication. In current prices GDP was also estimated to have decreased by 0.3% for the same period.
• Household final consumption expenditure increased by 0.4% in volume terms in the latest quarter revised up from the 0.2% increase previously estimated.
• Among the main contributors to the decrease in GDP in the latest quarter were gross fixed capital formation which fell by 0.2% in volume terms and the £6.0 billion net trade deficit, which follows a £5.3 billion net trade deficit in the previous quarter.
• GDP in volume terms increased by 0.2% when comparing the fourth quarter of 2012 with the fourth quarter of 2011. Between the years 2011 and 2012, GDP in volume terms increased by 0.3%. Figure 1 shows the annual growth in an historical context.
• The households’ saving ratio was estimated to be 7.1% in 2012, the highest since the 1997 estimate of 8.1%.
• Real household disposable income increased by 2.1% between 2011 and 2012. This is the highest growth since 2003 when it rose by 2.7%.
• The largest contributions to the increases in the households’ saving ratio and real household disposable income were an estimated £20.1 billion increase in wages and salaries in 2012 compared with 2011.

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