Economists expect GDP slowdown
City economists expect the snow to have played a part in the lacklustre output, but recent surveys point to wider problems in the economy - in particular in the services sector.
Tuesday's figures will be the first estimate of fourth-quarter GDP growth, but economists are braced for a second, sizeable quarterly drop after growth slumped from 1.1 per cent in the second quarter to 0.7 per cent between July and September. But if estimates of 0.4 per cent fourth-quarter growth prove correct, output for the whole of 2010 will come in at 1.6 per cent - better than expected at the start of the year.
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Hide AdHoward Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, said: "While hardly a spectacular year of growth - especially after such a deep recession - it would nevertheless be a significantly better performance than had seemed likely at the start of 2010."
Any sign of a further easing in the rate of economic expansion will add to the pressure on the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, which is in a quandary over how to balance weaker growth with spiralling inflation.