This is the best summary I could come up with:

The UK economy fell into recession at the end of last year as hard-pressed households cut back on spending in response to soaring interest rates and rising living costs.

The Office for National Statistics said gross domestic product (GDP) fell by a larger than expected 0.3% in the three months to December after a decline in all main sectors of the economy and a collapse in retail sales in the run-up to Christmas.

Economists had widely expected a shallow recession at the end of last year as households came under pressure from higher borrowing costs and rising prices for everyday essentials, forcing cutbacks elsewhere.

More recent snapshots from the economy have, however, shown a rebound in consumer confidence since the start of this year, buoyed up by the prospect of interest rate cuts from the Bank of England as inflationary pressures cool.

The latest snapshot from the ONS indicated weakness across much of the economy at the end of last year, with a fall in GDP amid a tough Christmas shopping period for retailers, strikes by junior doctors, and heavy rainfall.

Suren Thiru, the economics director at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, said: “Though the shallowness of this recession provides comfort, these figures also confirm that our economy remained locked in a cycle of persistent stagnation throughout 2023 as a myriad of headwinds, including high inflation, weighed heavily on activity.”

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