UK economy struggles ahead of Brexit

A fall in car sales was cited as a particularly significant cause

Despite the sluggish growth, the Bank of England is not expected to make any immediate interest rate changes (AP)

Britain's Brexit-facing economy experienced sluggish growth in October as the car sector stalled, official data showed Monday.

Gross domestic product grew by just 0.1 percent in October from September, the Office for National Statistics(ONS) said in a statement.

That represented a marginal rebound from zero growth in both August and September.

"GDP growth slowed going into the autumn after a strong summer, with a softening in services sector growth mainly due to a fall in car sales," said Rob Kent-Smith, head of national accounts at the ONS.

"This was offset by a strong showing from IT and accountancy."

Analysts widely expect the economy to cool further ahead of Britain's departure from the European Union in March.

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