The British economy grew faster than anticipated last year, but still recorded its worst performance in a decade, according to figures this morning. UK GDP grew by 1.8pc in 2002, up from a previous 1.6pc estimate, reflecting an upward adjustment to service sector growth, National Statistics said. However, that was still the slowest growth since 1992. Output from the manufacturing sector tumbled 4.0pc last year, the statistics office said. Government spending rose 3.8pc last year, but business investment fell by a record 8.0pc. In the fourth quarter, the UK economy expanded by just 0.4pc, unchanged from the previous estimate and marking a sharp slowdown from the 1.1pc pace recorded in the previous three months to September. While the service sector saw output growth of 0.5pc in the fourth quarter, output of the production industries was revised down to show a decline of 0.8pc and manufacturing output fell 1.0pc. The decrease in manufacturing represented the seventh decline in the last eight quarters. Exports fell 3.6pc in the fourth quarter, while imports rose 0.2pc, the statistics office said. ///www.fxcentre.com