Manufacturing output slumped in July at its fastest pace in a year as factories restricted production in the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote.
The car industry was among just a handful of sectors to expand, while textiles and metal production fell and pharmaceutical manufacturing dived.
A broader measure of industrial production inched higher, but only after a long recession in the quarrying and mining sector came to an end and the low value of the pound sent oil exports higher.
The Office for National Statistics data confirmed a range of industry surveys showing that manufacturers had been hit hard by the EU vote .
But a turnaround in manufacturing output was recorded by the Markit/Cips UK manufacturing PMI, which rose to 53.3 in August from 48.3 in July, where a figure below 50 indicates contraction.
That was the joint largest month-to-month jump in the survey’s nearly 25-year history, and was leapt on by Brexit campaigners who said it showed the fears surrounding the no vote were misplaced.
The ONS said manufacturing was the only sector to contract from the previous month, falling by 0.9% with the largest contribution from pharmaceuticals.
“However, this was offset by growth in the other three sectors, particularly mining and quarrying, which increased by 4.7%,” it said.
