Investing.com – Manufacturing and industrial production in the U.K. surged in December, handily beating consensus expectations and bolstering optimism over the British economy, official data showed on Friday.
In a report, the U.K. Office for National Statistics said that manufacturing production rose by a seasonally adjusted 2.1% in December, better than expectations for a gain of 0.5% and following a rise of 1.4% in the prior month, which was revised from an initial reading of 1.3%.
On an annualized basis, manufacturing production increased at rate of 4.0% in December, better than forecasts for a 1.8% advance and after increasing at a rate of 1.7% in November. The previous month’s data was revised from an initial 1.2% gain.
The report also showed that industrial production increased by a seasonally adjusted 1.1% in December, compared to forecasts for a 0.2% rise and following the 2.0% advance in the preceding month. November’s reading was revised lower from an initial 2.1% rise.
Year-on-year, industrial production gained 4.3% in December, above expectations for a 3.2% rise and following the 2.2% advance registered a month earlier. November’s reading was revised from an initial gain of 2.0%.
Immediately after the report, which was released simultaneously with the December construction output and trade balance, the pound moved higher. GBP/USD was at 1.2511 from around 1.2488 ahead of the announcement, EUR/GBP was at 0.8506 from 0.8522 earlier, while GBP/JPY traded at 142.15 from 141.85 prior to the release
Meanwhile, European stocks were trading mixed. London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.34%, the Euro Stoxx 50 slipped 0.02%, France's CAC 40 traded up 0.22%, while Germany's DAX advanced 0.38%.