Office for National Statistics revises down GDP growth for last 9 months

Construction grew by 3.9% rather than 4% in the last quarter, according to revised figures from the Office for National Statistics.

National GDP growth was also revised down, from 0.8% to 0.7% in the third quarter, from 1.2% to 1.1% in the second quarter, and from 0.4% to 0.3% in the first quarter.

Economists had raised doubts over whether construction figures had been unrealistically high, as statistics this year showed it was powering the rest of the economy out of recession.

The average annual growth rate was also downgraded by 0.1% to 2.7% during the last quarter.