UK industrial output beats forecasts for May, ONS data shows

UK industrial production data for May was better than expected, official data showed on Thursday.

Output rose 1.4% in May compared with the same month last year, according to initial estimates from the Office for National Statistics, slowing from the revised 2.2% growth in April 2016 but ahead of forecasts for a steeper slowdown to 0.5%.

Comparing May's industrial output to the preceding month, the decline was only 0.5%, beating the expected 1% fall even though it was down from the revised 2.1% growth from a month ago.

There were decreases in three of the four main sectors, with the largest downward movement coming from manufacturing.

Manufacturing production was down 0.5% month-on-month, ahead of the predicted 1.2% decline, while a 1.7% increase year-on-year also beat forecasts for a 0.4% rise.

The Index of Production (IoP), seen as one of the earliest indicators of growth and it measures output in the manufacturing, mining & quarrying, energy supply and water supply & waste management industries, was up 1.4% on the same month last year, down 0.5% on the preceding month, while on a three-month basis was up 1.2% on 2015's equivalent and up 1.9% on the preceding period in 2016.

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