London, Jan. 15, (dpa/GNA) – The UK economy contracted in November but at a slower than expected pace, data released by the Office for National Statistics revealed Friday.
Gross domestic product shrank 2.6 per cent on month in November but slower than the 5.7 per cent fall economists had forecast. The decline reversed a 0.6 per cent rise posted in October.
The economy contracted in November after rising for six straight months. November GDP fell back to 8.5 per cent below the levels seen in February 2020. GDP declined 8.9 per cent in the twelve months to November.
While construction output continued to increase in November, the output in headline GDP, services, and production declined from the previous month.
Industrial production dropped marginally by 0.1 per cent but the manufacturing sector grew by 0.7 per cent. At the same time, construction output advanced 1.9 per cent.
The index of services declined 3.4 per cent, the largely due to the 44 per cent decline in accommodation and food services activities. This was the third largest fall on record. Another report from the ONS showed that the visible trade deficit widened to 16.01 billion pounds (21 billion dollars) in November from 13.29 billion pounds in the previous month. Meanwhile, the surplus on services trade increased to 11.01 billion pounds from 10.95 billion pounds.
As a result, the total trade deficit totaled 4.99 billion pounds versus a 2.33 billion pound shortfall in October.
GNA