MNI BRIEF: UK Economy Contracts For Second Staright Month
MNI (LONDON) - UK GDP contracted modestly in October for a second consectutive month, with anecdotal signs consumers were holding back ahead of the new Labour government's first budget, the Office for National Statistics said Friday.
GDP fell 0.1% in October, the same as in September for the first two back-to-back monthly declines since March and April 2020, the first two months of the pandemic lockdowns in the UK, although the ONS did caution on the volatility of monthly data.
“Pubs and restaurants and retail all had weak months, partially offset by growth in telecoms, logistics, and legal firms," ONS Director of Economic Statistics Liz McKeown said.
Although below forecasts, the data still sits in line with Bank of England expectations for a fairly sluggish UK economy in coming quarters and the numbers are unlikely to trigger expectations of a rate cut on December 19.