LONDON, April 25: Britain’s economy got off to a poor start to 2008, as official data showed on Friday that first-quarter growth stumbled to a three-year low amid a housing market slowdown and the global credit crunch.

The British economy grew by 0.4 per cent in the three months to the end of March 2008, the slowest rate since the first quarter of 2005, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in an initial estimate on Friday.

That marked the third successive quarter of slowing growth and followed 0.6 per cent in the previous three-month period, as the construction and financial services sectors were hit hard by ongoing credit markets turmoil.

The gloomy news comes as the country faces ongoing fallout from the global credit crunch, a housing market slowdown, record high oil prices and soaring domestic utility bills.

“The key question is whether the economy experiences a period of stable but softer growth, or if the credit crisis begins to have a more significant impact on activity,” said Investec economist Philip Shaw.—AFP