LONDON, March 29 (UPI) -- The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development signaled Thursday the British economy may have slipped back into a recession.
The OECD, which monitors economic activity among 30 developed nations, said the British gross domestic product fell 0.1 percent from the fourth quarter of 2011 to the first quarter this year.
The annual rate of decline January through March was minus 0.4 percent.
The Daily Telegraph reported Thursday the Royal Bank of Scotland has estimated a contraction of 0.1 percent for the first quarter of the year, based in part by a "huge decline in construction output."
"Whilst the underlying position looks more reassuring ... the risks of a flat or negative headline (in the first quarter) may well disappoint market expectations," said RBS economist Ross Walker.
Concurrently, the Office for National Statistics firmed up its estimate of contraction for the fourth quarter. The British economy shrank at a rate of 0.3 percent, the ONS said this week.
The widely accepted definition of a recession is two consecutive quarters of economic contraction. But that definition does not always match up with official declarations of when recessions start or end.
The OECD, however, expects the British economy to grow in the second quarter of 2012, albeit at a sluggish 0.1 percent compared to the first quarter.
