U.K. Disposable Income Drops as Double-Dip Avoided: Economy

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Britons’ disposable income plunged the most in more than a quarter of a century in the first quarter, indicating continued pressure on the economy even as data showed the U.K. avoided a double-dip recession in 2012.

Real household disposable incomes fell 1.7 percent from the previous three months, the most since 1987, the Office for National Statistics said in London today. It also revised higher 2012 data to show that the U.K. avoided two consecutive quarters of contraction, the technical definition of a recession. Separately, gross domestic product rose 0.3 percent in the first quarter of this year, matching a previous estimate.