The UK economy almost ground to a halt in October as the second wave of coronavirus hit the hospitality sector

  • Date: 10-Dec-2020
  • Source: Business Insider
  • Sector:Economy
  • Country:Middle East
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The UK economy almost ground to a halt in October as the second wave of coronavirus hit the hospitality sector

The UK economy expanded for a sixth month in October, but at a rate of just 0.4%, against a backdrop of rising coronavirus cases, according to figures outlined by the Office of National Statistics on Thursday.The second wave nearly brought UK economic growth to a halt as accommodation and food services were impacted by restrictive measures in October.Meanwhile, manufacturing output grew 1.7% on a monthly basis and is expected to rise further in the near-term. With Christmas celebrations likely to accelerate the spread of the virus, a return of service closures will apply to all parts of the country in January, a chief economist said.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The UK economy's growth stalled in October as a rising number of coronavirus cases nearly stopped economic recovery, data released Thursday by the country's statistics authority showed.

Gross domestic product slowed from 1.1% in September to only 0.4% in October, its sixth consecutive monthly increase. The figure was above Pantheon Macroeconomics' estimate of 0.0% and October's GDP is still 23.4% higher than where it was in April.

Both the manufacturing and healthcare sector contributed the most to monthly economic output, while accommodation and food services were a drag on total output as