2020.04.0906:35:00UTC+00UK GDP Falls Unexpectedly In February

The UK economy shrank unexpectedly in February due to a large fall in construction, data from the Office for National Statistics showed Thursday.

Gross domestic product fell 0.1 percent month-on-month in February, confounding expectations for a monthly growth of 0.1 percent.

In three months to February, GDP grew 0.1 percent, following no growth in three months to January.

"Today's figures show that in the three months to February, which was before the full effects of Coronavirus took hold, the economy continued to show little to no growth," Rob Kent-Smith, Head of GDP at ONS said.

In February, the dominant service sector showed nil growth after rising 0.1 percent in January. At the same time, industrial production grew 0.1 percent driven by a 0.5 percent rise in manufacturing.

However, construction output declined 1.7 percent as wet weather and flooding hampered house building.

Another report from the ONS showed that the visible trade deficit surged to GBP 11.48 billion in February from GBP 5.76 billion in January.

The total trade balance, which combines goods and services, showed a shortfall of GBP 2.79 billion versus a surplus of GBP 2.41 billion a month ago.