The British economy has now contracted for six successive quarters, making this the longest downturn since the agency started its data series in 1955.

And it is starting to further lag behind the 16-member euro area, where France and Germany are contributing to broad improvements in manufacturing, services and consumer demand.

Jean-Michel Six, chief European economist at Standard & Poor’s, said the divergence appeared to stem from the higher level of consumer indebtedness in Britain.

“U.K. consumers are coming out of a period of very significant leveraging, and the process of unwinding that is long and painful,” he said. “You would expect savings rates to grow and credit demand to fall, weighing on the economy.”

Meanwhile, German business confidence in October rose to its highest level in 13 months, according to the Ifo economic research institute in Munich.