UK economy shrinks by 0.3 percent in October: ONS

LONDON -- The United Kingdom's (UK) economy shrank by 0.3 percent month-on-month in October with contractions across all three main sectors, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Wednesday.

Services output fell by 0.2 percent in the month and was the main contributor to the fall in the country's gross domestic product (GDP). Production output contracted by 0.8 percent and the construction sector dipped by 0.5 percent, the ONS said.

"Services were the biggest driver of the fall with drops in IT (information technology), legal firms and film production -- which fell back after a couple of strong months," Darren Morgan, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said.

"These were also compounded by widespread falls in manufacturing and construction, which fell partly due to the poor weather," he added.

In the three months to October, the UK economy showed no growth. Increases in services, led by engineering, film production and education, which recovered from the impact of summer strikes, were offset by falls in both manufacturing and housebuilding, Morgan said.