- Stefan Friedhoff, a managing director for construction at Lloyds Bank
Britain's manufacturing production increased the most in seven months in November, rising 0.7% from October and exceeding a 0.3% forecast of economists. However, construction and industrial production unexpectedly dropped in November, adding to evidence the UK economy lost momentum in recent months. Industrial output slipped 0.1% in the reported month due to a sharp decline in oil and gas output, versus expectations of a 0.2% increase and compared with downwardly revised 0.3% decline a month before, the Office for National Statistics informed. The production of oil and gas plummeted sharply by 5.5%, on a monthly basis, and contributed negatively with 0.57 percentage points to the total production. Meanwhile, construction output fell 2% month-on-month, against expectations for a 1.2% rebound after October's shrinkage. Construction output was 3.6% higher from a year ago - well short of forecasts for a 6.7% growth.
The ONS also reported that the declining price of oil helped to narrow the UK's trade deficit in November to the lowest level since June 2013. The trade gap shrank to 8.8 billion pounds, as exports fell by 0.1 billion pounds, while imports dropped 1.1 billion pounds. Exports to countries within the EU fell while exports to countries outside of the EU increased, particularly to China.
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