GDP figures predict 'weak' 2012 for UK

UK economic activity shrank by 0.2% in the last three months of last year according to official figures.

It marks a sharp drop in economic activity from the third quarter of 2011, when gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 0.6%.

The figures, from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), are a preliminary estimate, which could be revised either up or down by 0.2%.

The ONS figures also show that the economy grew by 0.9% during 2011.

The BBC's Economics Editor, Stephanie Flanders predicts that 2012 will be a "weak" year for the UK.

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