British manufacturing output rose more than expected in December after strong gains in the transport, paper and publishing and electrical and optical equipment sectors, official data showed today.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said manufacturing grew by 0.9 per cent in December from an upwardly revised 0.2 per cent in November, three times faster than economists had forecast.
The broader measure of industrial production also rose by slightly more than expected, growing by 0.5 per cent on the month, its fastest pace since September 2009 but limited by a 5.5 per cent drop in oil and gas production.
Year-on-year, manufacturing was down 1.9 per cent in December and industrial production was 3.6 per cent lower.
On the quarter, manufacturing rose 0.8 per cent and industrial output overall rose 0.4 per cent -- compared with estimates of 0.4 per cent and 0.1 per cent respectively in the ONS's initial estimate of fourth quarter GDP last month.
The ONS said today's data implied an upward revision of less than 0.1 percentage points to the GDP estimate, other things being equal.
The quarterly rise in manufacturing output was the largest since March 2006, while the industrial output gain on the quarter was the highest since December 2007.
Reuters