LONDON, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Britain's economy shrank during the period of August-October 2025, with the real gross domestic product (GDP) edging down 0.1 percent compared with the three months to July, estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed Friday.
The 0.1-percent fall in the three months to October was the first quarterly fall in real GDP since December 2023, according to the ONS.
Specifically, two of the three main economic sectors recorded contractions in the August-October period, with production output falling by 0.5 percent and construction output dropping by 0.3 percent. The services sector stalled in the third quarter after growing 0.2 percent in the three months to September, the data showed.
"There's little festive cheer for businesses in the latest GDP data, as the economy unexpectedly shrank in both the three-month period and October itself, Stuart Morrison, research manager at the British Chambers of Commerce, said.
He also said the data paints a particularly worrying picture on the services sector, which is usually a real strength of the UK economy. "Firms are left waiting for an unlikely Christmas miracle on growth," he added. ■