"The UK manufacturing sector remained sluggish at the end of the third quarter, stunned by a triple combination of a sharp slowdown in consumer spending, weak business investment and stagnating export order inflows."
- Markit
Both manufacturing production and the overall industrial output in the UK increased comfortably above expectations in August, driven by a surge in oil and gas extraction, as well as by a rebound in car production. The factory output rose to a six-month high of 0.5% on a monthly basis in August, up from a revised decline of 0.7% a month before, while markets expected to see a 0.4% gain. However, the output in the sector fell 0.8% when compared with the same month a year ago. The primary upward driver for a monthly growth in the sector was a notable increase in car production after an earlier summer shutdown in July. That, in turn, helped to push the overall transport equipment segment up to a rise of 4.6% in August.
At the same time, the overall industrial production in the United Kingdom advanced 1% on a month-on-month basis, and was driven mainly by a significant increase in oil and gas extraction from the North Sea, rising by 8.7% in August. In the prior month the industrial output contracted 0.3%. Nevertheless, despite an advance in August, the manufacturing sector remains one of the most volatile in the UK, while producers continue to struggle with softer global markets and strong exchange rate of the Sterling.
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