LONDON, Nov 5 (Reuters) - British manufacturing output fell for the seventh month and much more than expected in September to mark the longest stretch of monthly declines in 28 years, official data showed on Wednesday.
The Office for National Statistics said that manufacturing output fell by 0.8 percent in September. That was twice the rate of decline forecast by analysts and took output 2.3 percent lower than a year earlier, the biggest decline since May 2003.
Manufacturing has now fallen for seven months, the longest run of monthly drops since December 1980.
Industrial production felll by 0.2 percent in September. The monthly drop in industrial production was slightly less than expected but the ONS said, other things being equal, would still shave 0.02 percentage points off the -0.5 percent preliminary estimate of GDP.
The figures are likely to boost expectations the Bank of England will deliver a large rate cut on Thursday, especially as data on the service sector are also very weak.