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UK Q1 business investment slumps by 1.8 pct vs Q4
(Updating with further details) LONDON (Thomson Financial) - UK business investment dropped sharply during the first quarter as the credit crunch dampens companies' willingness to invest, official figures showed. The final estimate from the Office for National Statistics showed business investment fell by 1.8 percent in the first quarter from the fourth quarter. On an annual basis, business investment was 4.5 percent higher. The figures are revised from the preliminary estimate for a smaller quarterly fall of 1.4 percent and for an annual gain of 3.7 percent. The details of the release showed that the fall over the quarter was driven principally by a 6.7 percent drop in public and private sector manufacturing investment, as well as a 7.9 percent fall in construction and other production. Services sector investment in the private sector, however, rose by 0.6 percent from the fourth quarter. [email][email protected][/email] jkm/jfr/jkm/slm COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.