LONDON, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Britain's gross domestic product (GDP) recorded a 2.6 percent monthly fall in November 2020 amid further COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in the country, following six consecutive months of growth, the British Office for National Statistics (ONS) said Friday.
The ONS data showed that the November GDP fell back to 8.5 percent below the levels seen in February 2020 (before the pandemic) compared with 6.1 percent below in October 2020.
"All things considered, the 2.6 percent fall in November GDP was pretty mild given the national lockdown that was in place at the time," said James Smith, a developed markets economist at financial services firm ING.
The services sector acted as the main drag on growth in November, falling by 3.4 percent monthly as restrictions on activity were reintroduced, said the ONS, adding that the services sector is now 9.9 percent below the level of February 2020.
Meanwhile, the output in the production sector dropped by 0.1 percent monthly in November while the construction sector growing by 1.9 percent, said the ONS.
"Underlying detail to today's UK GDP indicates many UK businesses adapting to lockdown conditions -- most impressively within construction which is back to its pre-pandemic output levels," tweeted Simon French, chief economist at Panmure Gordon & Co, a British corporate and institutional investment bank.
Looking ahead, Smith said "there is little doubt that the latest restrictions will hit economic activity more than they did in November (2021)."
"Given that the current lockdowns are likely to remain in place until mid to late March before being gradually unwound, it is likely that first quarter GDP (in 2021) will shrink by around 2-3 percent," Smith added.
At present, millions of Britons are facing new strict lockdown measures requiring them to stay indoors as COVID-19 infections continue to spiral upwards.
The ONS data came as another 48,682 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 3,260,258, according to official figures released Thursday.
Another 1,248 have died within 28 days of a positive test, and the total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 86,015, the data showed.
England is currently under the third national lockdown since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country. Similar restriction measures are also in place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Germany, Russia and the United States have been racing against time to develop coronavirus vaccines. Enditem