UK economic growth slows sharply to 0.4pc in Oct

London: Britain’s economy, battered this year by coronavirus and now facing fresh fears of a no-deal Brexit, slowed sharply in October from the previous month, according to official data published on Thursday.

Gross domestic product expanded by just 0.4 percent in October from September, chalking up growth for the sixth consecutive month, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement.

That marked a sharp slowdown from 1.1-percent expansion in September, while analysts warned of a difficult November when a second partial lockdown was imposed in England.

The ONS added on Thursday that GDP remains 7.9 percent below pre-pandemic levels in February -- and noted that the rate of recovery has slowed each month since June.

Output was also hit after more localised measures to control the virus were imposed in parts of northern and central England, as well as in Scotland and Wales.

"The UK economy has now grown for six months running but still remains around 8.0 percent below its pre-pandemic peak," said Jonathan Athow, deputy national statistician at the ONS.

"Public services output increased, while car manufacturing continued to recover and retail again grew strongly.

"However, the re-introduction of some restrictions saw services growth hit, with large falls in hospitality, meaning the economy overall grew only modestly."

Britain´s initial Covid-19 lockdown sent the economy tanking into a record recession in the first half of this year.