UK Economy at Stand Still in Second Quarter

LONDON, Sept 30 (Reuters) - The British economy stood still in the second quarter of 2008 and the current account gap widened to its highest level in nearly a year, official data showed on Tuesday. The Office for National Statistics said GDP was unchanged from the first quarter, unrevised from its previous estimate.

Output rose 1.5 percent on the year, revised up from the previous estimate of 1.4 percent. The data have also been revised back several years to include improved methodology, which adds 19.5 billion pounds to 2007 GDP.

That could give the government more leeway to spend. Separately, the ONS released data on the balance of payments. The current account recorded a deficit of about 11 billion pounds in the second quarter.

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