Investing.com - Manufacturing production in the U.K. fell more than expected in July, though industrial production managed a surprise increase, official data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the U.K. Office for National Statistics said that manufacturing production decreased by a seasonally adjusted 0.9% in July, worse than expectations for a decline of 0.4% and following a drop of 0.2% a month earlier that was revised from an initial 0.3% decline.
On an annualized basis, manufacturing production rose at rate of 0.8% in July, worse than forecasts for a 1.7% increase and after advancing at a rate of 0.6% in June that was revised down from an initial gain of 0.9%.
The report also showed that industrial production inched up by a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in July, better than forecasts for a 0.2% decrease and following the 0.1% gain in the preceding month.
Year-on-year, industrial production increased 2.1% in July, above expectations for a 1.9% rise and following the 1.4% advance registered in June, changed from the initial reading of a 1.6% increase.
The pound weakened on the news. Immediately after the report, GBP/USD was at 1.3383 from around 1.3409 ahead of the announcement, EUR/GBP was at 0.8398 from 0.8382 earlier, while GBP/JPY traded at 136.04 from 136.25 prior to the release
European stocks were mostly higher. London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.23%, the Euro Stoxx 50 rose 0.37%, France's CAC 40 traded up 0.29%, while Germany's DAX advanced 0.31%.