|
UK output recovers in July after oil rig dip
|
|
LONDON: British manufacturing output maintained a healthy pace of growth in July and industrial output recovered from a dip caused by an early start to oil rig maintenance in June, official data showed on Wednesday.
The figures, which were fully in line with expectations, confirm a picture of a strong rebound in manufacturing after heavy losses in the recession of 2008-09, with the strongest annual growth in more than 15 years.
"It's a decent reading," said George Buckley, UK economist at Deutsche Bank. "But I think it's going to be quite difficult to achieve the same rates of growth (going forward) that we saw in the first and second quarters of this year."
Manufacturing output rose 0.3 per cent on the month, the same pace as the previous two months, lifting the annual rate to 4.9 per cent -- the highest since December 1994.
Industrial output also rose 0.3 per cent on the month, recovering from a 0.5 per cent drop in June, taking the annual rate to 1.9 per cent from 1.3 per cent. The statistics office said there was scope for further gains as more oil rigs came back on stream in August.-Reuters
|
|