British industry grew much faster than expected in November
Industrial output in the UK grew 2.1% in the month of November putting the UK's industrial sector back on the front foot after a bad few months, according to the latest data released by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday.
The industrial production numbers compared favourably to the forecasts of economists, who predicted a smaller expansion of 0.8%. On a year-to-year basis, industrial production increased by 2% against a forecast of 0.6%.
"In November 2016, total production was estimated to have increased by 2.1% compared with October 2016. The increase in production was due to an increase in mining and quarrying output following the end of a maintenance period in the oil and gas industry and an increase in manufacturing," the ONS said in a release.
Essentially, the increase during November was not to do with any great surge in economic confidence, but merely a consequence of the end of a period of maintenance in the oil and gas sector.
You can see the long term trend of the ONS' index of production, below:
During the month of November (the ONS releases data on a one-month delay) manufacturing production grew by 1.3%, against forecast growth of 0.5%, while on a yearly basis the sector grew by 1.2%, compared to an estimate of 0.4% growth.
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