The U.K. economy unexpectedly contracted 0.1% in the three months to October, according to official figures released Friday.
Economists had expected 0% growth over the period. It follows a 0.1% expansion over the three months to September.
The Office for Statistics noted that services output stalled, construction output fell 0.3% and production output fell 0.5% “largely because of a fall in the manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers in this period.”
The figures come after the U.K.’s Chancellor Rachel Reeves unveiled a range of tax hikes in her hotly anticipated Budget last month, as she looked to plug a “black hole” in the country’s finances and spur much-needed economic growth.
“October’s GDP underscores just how much difficulty the U.K. economy is going through as the government searches for some sort of growth,” Lindsay James, investment strategist at Quilter wealth management company, said in a note.
