Investing.com – Manufacturing production in the UK rose more than forecast in November, bolstering optimism over the British economy, official data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the UK Office for National Statistics said that manufacturing production increased 0.4% in November from the prior month, compared to expectations for a 0.3% rise and following a 0.3% advance in the previous month that was revised up from 0.1%.
On an annualized basis, manufacturing production rose 3.5% in November, beating forecasts for a 2.8% gain and after increasing at a rate of 4.7% in the previous month in an upward revision from an initial 3.9% advance.
The report also showed that industrial production advanced by a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in November, in line with expectations and compared to a 0.2% increase that was revised up from an initially flat reading in the preceding month.
Year-on-year, industrial production rose by 2.5% in November, compared to a forecast for 1.8% increase and following the 4.3% advance registered a month earlier which was an upward revision from an initial 3.6% gain.
Immediately after the report, which was released simultaneously with the UK trade balance and construction output for the same month, GBP/USD was at 1.3525 from around 1.3516 ahead of the announcement, EUR/GBP was at 0.8830 from 0.8837 earlier, while GBP/JPY traded at 151.16 from 151.08 prior to the release.
Meanwhile, European stocks were trading mixed. London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.18%, the Euro Stoxx 50 slipped 0.06%, France's CAC 40 inched up 0.04%, while Germany's DAX traded down 0.27%.