The United Kingdom is on its way towards a double-dip recession, as the nation's gross domestic product lost 2.6% in November in view of fresh lockdowns launched at the time to rein in the new spikes in coronavirus cases.
According to the Office for National Statistics, the nation is in for an even steeper decline of 5.7%.
The GDP downturn comes following six consecutive monthly increases that were reversed due to a second lockdown in England and restrictions in other parts of the UK.
The UK economy is now 8.5 percent below its pre-pandemic peak set in February, the ONS added.
The service sector suffered a particularly heavy blow during the November lockdown, contracting by 3.4 percent, the figures showed.
A third nationwide lockdown was imposed in England in early January as the country battles a wave of COVID-19 linked to a highly infectious new strain of the disease. The UK's Department of Health and Social Care confirmed 48,682 new positive tests for COVID-19 on Thursday, taking the country's case total past 3.26 million.
