Investing.com – Manufacturing production in the UK was unchanged as forecast in June, though industrial output registered a larger than expected increase, bolstering optimism over the British economy, official data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the UK Office for National Statistics said that manufacturing production registered no change in June from the prior month, in line with expectations and following a drop of 0.1% in the previous month which was revised upwards from a decline of 0.2%.
On an annualized basis, manufacturing production rose 0.6% in June, also matching forecasts and after increasing at a rate of 0.3% in the previous month, which was revised from an initial 0.4% gain.
The report also showed that industrial production advanced by a seasonally adjusted 0.5% in June, compared to forecasts for a 0.1% increase and the 0.2% decline in the preceding month.
Year-on-year, industrial production unexpectedly rose by 0.3% in June, better than expectations for a 0.1% decline and following the 0.2% decrease registered a month earlier.
Immediately after the report, which was released simultaneously with the UK trade balance and construction output for the same month GBP/USD was at 1.2976 from around 1.2966 ahead of the announcement, EUR/GBP was at 0.9036 from 0.9042 earlier, while GBP/JPY traded at 142.71 from 142.59 prior to the release.
Meanwhile, European stocks were trading lower. London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.67%, the Euro Stoxx 50 lost 0.23%, France's CAC 40 dropped 0.11%, while Germany's DAX traded down 0.23%.