UK economy surprises with stronger-than-expected 0.3% growth in November

The U.K. economy grew by a more-than-expected 0.3% in November, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed Thursday.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected a very modest growth figure of 0.1%.

The ONS said services and production both grew in November, by 0.3% and 1.1%, respectively. Meanwhile, construction fell by 1.3% in the same month. Pound sterling was largely flat against the dollar following the data, last trading at $1.3433.

The latest data comes after the economy contracted unexpectedly by 0.1% in October, a figure that was attributed to the ongoing fallout of a cyber-attack at Jaguar Land Rover, which affected car production, and consumer and business uncertainty in the run-up to the Autumn Budget.