Britain’s manufacturers cut back output by 0.4% in October, partly reversing a strong performance the previous month, and underlining warnings of a tough winter for the sector.
Official figures showed that while George Osborne has pledged to unleash a “march of the makers”, manufacturing output in October stood 0.1% lower than the same month in 2014 – and remains 6.1% below its pre-recession peak.
Overall industrial production, which includes mining and utilities, as well as manufacturing, increased just 0.1% in October on the previous month, and 1.7% higher than a year earlier; but economists pointed out that the rise was driven by a sharp swing in gas output.
“Industrial production only edged up in October due to erratic movements in its volatile components,” said Samuel Tombs, UK economist at Pantheon Macro. “The 0.4% month-to-month fall in core manufacturing output is another sign that the strong pound is starting to stifle the economic recovery, and the continued weakness of the manufacturing surveys suggest further falls lie ahead.”
