MARKET NEWS
Sterling falls after shock contraction in UK GDP - REUTERS
By Amanda Cooper and Harry Robertson
LONDON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The pound fell on Friday after data showed the British economy shrank unexpectedly in October, which could prompt traders to attach a greater chance to the prospect of speedier rate cuts by the Bank of England next year.
Official data showed UK economic activity contracted 0.1% in October. A Reuters poll of economists had forecast a rise of 0.1% last month, from September's 0.1% fall.
This was the first back-to-back decline since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when Britain imposed the first lockdown.
