Investing.com - Manufacturing production in the U.K. declined unexpectedly in January, while industrial output also fell, official data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the U.K. Office for National Statistics said that manufacturing production decreased by a seasonally adjusted 0.5% in January, disappointing expectations for an increase of 0.2% and following a 0.1% gain in December.
On an annualized basis, manufacturing production rose at rate of 1.9% in January, below expectations for a gain of 2.6%, after rising at a rate of 2.6% in the preceding month.
The report also showed that industrial production fell by a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in January, compared to expectations for a 0.2% gain, after declining 0.2% in December.
GBP/USD was trading at 1.5047 from around 1.5054 ahead of the announcement, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7054 from 0.7052 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets remained higher. London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.25%, the EURO STOXX 50 climbed 1.3%, France's CAC 40 rallied 1.45%, while Germany's DAX tacked on 1.2%.