UK manufacturing production declines in October

Manufacturing production in Britain declined unexpectedly in October, data released on Tuesday showed.

According to the Office for National Statistics, manufacturing output slid 0.4% month-on-month in October, compared with an upwardly revised 0.9% gain in September and with analysts’ expectations for a 0.2% decline.

The largest contribution to the decrease came from other manufacturing & repair, which decreased by 5.4%.the report added.

On a year-on-year basis, manufacturing production fell 0.1% compared with an upwardly revised 0.4% decline in the previous month and with consensus expectations for stagnant growth.

In the quarter to October, manufacturing output was 6.1% lower the pre-crisis figure.

"The manufacturing sector is probably not out of the woods yet, with the pound having risen further recently and overseas demand still weak," Ruth Miller, UK economist at Capital Economics.

"Meanwhile, some of the forward-looking surveys suggest that the sector will weaken again in the near term.

"Accordingly, while we expect the overall economic recovery to pick up the pace again in coming quarters, a sustained rebalancing towards production and exports still seems a distant prospect."