UK industrial production contracts further in Feb, surprises negatively

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) published the UK industrial and manufacturing production data on Friday, showing that the overall industrial activity deteriorated further in February, which surprised markets to the downside.

Manufacturing output dropped -0.1% m/m in Feb versus a -1.0% drop seen in Jan, while total industrial output also dropped for the second straight month, with the figures showing a -0.7% decrease in the reported month, a -0.3% (revised up from -0.4%) drop seen in Jan.

On annualized basis, UK manufacturing production also expanded below expectations, coming in at 3.3% in Feb, compared with expectations of +3.9%. Total industrial output slowed down to 2.8% from a year earlier, missing expectations of a 3.7% rise and against the previous +3.3% print.