"A return to positive gross domestic product growth in the first quarter is not guaranteed"
- ING economist James Knightley
Activity in the U.K.'s manufacturing sector unexpectedly contracted last month, reviving concerns that the economy may slip into a triple-dip recession. According to the Markit Economics and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply, a gauge of manufacturing activity plunged to 47.9, down from 50.5 in the preceding month. Any reading below 50 indicates contraction in the sector, while the manufacturing sector accounts of around 10.5% of British economic output. Britain's economy contracted in the last three months of 2012, while the Bank of England expects growth to remain weak in the near term. In the meantime, the most recent data are raising chances that nation's policy makers will enhance the bond-purchase programme next week.
"A return to positive gross domestic product growth in the first quarter is not guaranteed," ING economist James Knightley in London said in an e-mailed note. "The Bank of England has more work to do."
"Bad weather may have had some effect, but there is no getting away from the fact that this is a discouraging report," said Simon Hayes, an economist at Barclays Plc in London. "The outlook for manufacturing remains shaky."
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