‘This morning’s data paint a rather bleak picture for the U.K. economy and underline the challenges lying ahead.’ – Kay Daniel Neufeld, Centre for Economics and Business Research.
Output in the UK manufacturing industry dropped unexpectedly over the month in May, suggesting that the country’s economic growth continued to weaken. The Office for National Statistics reported on Friday that manufacturing production fell 0.2% in the observed month, compared with April’s 0.2% increase. Meanwhile, analysts anticipated British manufacturing production to expand 0.5%. The report showed two main contributors to the decline, with car production registering a 4.4% fall, the steepest since February 2016, while energy sector fell 0.8% amid lower gas supply. On a yearly basis, total production dropped 0.2% with downward trends in two of the four main sectors. Experts suggested that a high degree of uncertainty about the future of the UK and the European Union’s trade relationship weighed on the country’s manufacturing industry. Moreover, weaker-than-expected figures added to expectations for a more modest Britain’s economic expansion in the Q2, following the first quarter’s 0.2% increase, the lowest among the G7 countries.
