Forexpros – Manufacturing production in the U.K. fell significantly more-than-expected in April, while industrial production was unexpectedly flat, official data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, the U.K. Office for National Statistics said that manufacturing production fell by 0.7% in April, disappointing expectations for a more modest 0.2% decline.
Manufacturing production rose by an unrevised 0.9% in March.
Year-on-year, manufacturing production fell at an annualized rate of 0.3% in April, confounding expectations for a gain of 0.4%, after falling at a rate of 0.9% in March.
Industrial production was flat in April, disappointing expectations for a 0.1% increase, after declining 0.3% in March.
On an annualized basis, industrial production fell at rate of 1.0% in April, matching forecasts. Industrial production dropped at a rate of 2.6% in the preceding month.
Following the release of the data, the pound remained lower against the U.S. dollar, with GBP/USD shedding 0.11% to trade at 1.5471.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were mildly higher. London’s FTSE 100 added 0.15%, the EURO STOXX 50 eased up 0.4%, France’s CAC 40 edged 0.2% higher, while Germany’s DAX rose 0.55%.
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