UK industrial production surged 2.0% m/m in April - TDS

Research Team at TDS, notes that the UK industrial production surged 2.0% m/m in April (mkt flat) and manufacturing also rose 2.3% m/m, despite the manufacturing PMI dipping into contraction territory that month for the first time since early-2013.

Key Quotes

“Strength in manufacturing was widespread across industries, with the auto sector performing well in the month, as we saw with yesterday’s German IP as well.

Today's IP suggests that worries about the EU Referendum are just that - they're affecting confidence and attitudes in the economy, but haven't fed through to actual activity. Combined with the healthy April retail number seen a couple of weeks ago, this suggests that GDP growth in Q2 might not be as weak as feared, and closer to the BoE and NIESR's estimate of about 0.3% q/q.”