The UK economy is heading for a double-dip recession after official figures confirmed a renewed slump in November as the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic took hold.
The Office for National Statistics said gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 2.6% in November from a month earlier, a period when the government launched the second national lockdown in England and amid tougher controls in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. City economists had forecast a steeper fall of 5.7%.
Confirming the first step towards a double-dip recession, the latest official figures end six consecutive months of growth over the summer, when the UK economy had been recovering from the first wave of the crisis.
More details to follow…
