UK economic growth weakest among G7, barring Japan

The UK economy clocked a slower growth rate in the past year than any of the G7 nations other than tsunami-hit Japan, according to figures.

The UK's year-on-year growth of 0.7 per cent in the second quarter of 2011 placed it at the bottom of a table of the group of seven industrialised nations compiled by think-tank the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Japan's GDP was down 0.9 per cent after the combined earthquake and tsunami disaster in March while Germany registered the strongest growth at 2.7 per cent.

With consumer spending down due to the rising inflation, the UK economy could only struggle to gain momentum after the recession.

According to the OECD's figures the pace of the growth across some of the world's biggest economies slowed in the second quarter of 2011.

The 34 developed nations that make up the membership of the OECD saw their GDP slow down to 0.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2011, from 0.3 per cent growth in the first quarter of 2011.