Fall in manufacturing output deals blow to recovery of UK economy

By GARETH ROSE
Published on 07/12/2012 12:26

A STEEPER-than-expected fall in manufacturing output has dealt a blow to the UK’s fragile economic recovery.

• The ONS said factory output was far worse than analysts’s expected decline

• GDP rose 1 per cent in the autumn, ending the longest double-dip recession since the 1950s.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said factory output fell 1.3 per cent in October, far worse than the 0.2 per cent decline that analysts had been expecting.

The wider measure of industrial production fell 0.8 per cent, partly due to a record fall in oil extraction, which dipped due to maintenance on North Sea rigs.

GDP rose just 1 per cent in the autumn, ending the longest double-dip recession since the 1950s.

Markit chief economist Chris Williamson said: “Judging by the official data that we have seen for the fourth quarter so far, notably retail sales, trade and industrial production, the UK will struggle to avoid a renewed downturn in the economy after the brief return to growth seen in the third quarter.”