Investing.com - Manufacturing production in the U.K. rose less than expected in August, while industrial production registered a surprise decline, official data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the U.K. Office for National Statistics said that manufacturing production increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in August, worse than expectations for a gain of 0.5% and following a drop of 0.9% a month.
On an annualized basis, manufacturing production rose at rate of 0.5% in August, worse than forecasts for a 0.9% increase and after advancing at a rate of 0.7% in July that was revised from an initial gain of 0.8%.
The report also showed that industrial production unexpectedly fell by a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in August, compared to forecasts for a 0.1% rise and following the 0.1% gain in the preceding month.
Year-on-year, industrial production increased 0.7% in August, below expectations for a 1.3% rise and following the 2.1% advance registered in July.
The pound weakened on the news. Immediately after the report, GBP/USD was at 1.2430 from around 1.2444 ahead of the announcement, EUR/GBP was at 0.8944 from 0.8932 earlier, while GBP/JPY traded at 129.05 from 129.20 prior to the release
Meanwhile, European stocks were trading mostly lower, though London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.54% on a weak pound. The Euro Stoxx 50 lost 0.45%, France's CAC 40 traded down 0.17%, while Germany's DAX fell 0.20%.