The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cut its forecast for UK growth for both this year and the next, blowing hopes for a quick recovery to the country’s ailing economy.

The IMF said Britain would grow only by 1 percent this year which is lower than its October forecast of 1.1 percent and also the official government forecast of 1.2 percent.

Moreover, the IMF said the country would grow by 1.9 percent next year, a 0.3 percentage point cut compared with October.

The IMF figures are another setback for British Chancellor George Osborne; whose policies have put the country’s privileged AAA credit status under significant pressure.

The recent figures underlined the country’s sluggish recovery just days ahead of the official growth figures for 2012.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is expected to reveal that the economy contracted by between 0.1 percent and 0.3 percent in the three months to December, causing the economy for the year as a whole to shrink by 0.1 percent.

MOS/MOL/HE