OBR downgrades UK growth forecast to -0.1% for 2012

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has downgraded its outlook for the UK economy.

The OBR revised down the growth forecasts for the UK economy it made in March from 0.8% to -0.1% for 2012, from 2% to 1.2% for 2013, and from 2.7% to 2% for 2014. It expects to see growth of 2.3% in 2015 and 2.7% in 2016. The OBR said over-optimism on the strength of net trade was to blame for the downgrades. It added the economic contraction in 2008-2009 was much deeper than it had originally thought. A 6.3% contraction in GDP was "the largest shock to the economy since World War II," Chancellor George Osborne said, and this continues to weigh on the productivity of the UK economy...