- Jonathan Loynes, the chief European economist at Capital Economics
Manufacturing output in Britain increased in line with analysts' predictions in July, while industrial production overshot forecasts. In a report, the U.K. Office for National Statistics said that manufacturing production inched up by a seasonally adjusted 0.3% in July, meeting expectations. On an annualized basis, manufacturing production rose 2.2% in July, in line with expectations, after surging at a rate of 1.9% in the previous month. The report also showed that industrial production soared by a seasonally adjusted 1.7% in July, compared with forecasts for a 1.3% advance, after rising 1.2% in June. The data, released by the Office of National Statistics, suggests that the Britain's economic recovery, which resulted in second quarter growth of 0.8%, is likely to spread into the second half of the year.
The ONS has also published its U.K. trade statistics for July, which showed the country's trade deficit widened again in July, with the deficit of goods at its widest in more than two years, highlighting how the recovery remains rooted in the domestic economy. The trade in goods deficit rose to 10.2 billion pounds from 9.4 billion pounds in June, disappointing City expectations that the deficit would narrow to 9.1 billion pounds. The country's exports grew slightly, up 0.5 billion pounds to 24 billion pounds, with goods shipped to the struggling Eurozone increasing by less than 0.1 billion, while imports rose to 34.2 billion pounds.
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