UK manufacturing production beats expectations in July

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) published the UK industrial and manufacturing production data on Friday, showing that the overall industrial output rose modestly in July.

The total industrial production rose 0.2% m-o-m, with the yearly pace ticking higher to 0.4%. The reading matched consensus estimates but was well below 0.5% growth recorded in the previous month.

Meanwhile, manufacturing output rebounded a bit and recorded a growth of 0.5% in July, as compared to last month's flat reading. On annualized basis, manufacturing production recorded a healthy growth of 1.9% during the reported month, much better-than June's 0.6% and surpassing market expectations.