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Roundup: British industrial production slips by 0.2 pct in Dec. 2014

Xinhua, February 11, 2015 Adjust font size:

British industrial output slipped by 0.2 percent between November and December in 2014, worse than the market estimation consensus of a 0.1 percent increase, data from the country's Office of National Statistics (ONS) showed on Tuesday.

Manufacturing output increased by merely 0.1 percent between the last two months of last year. The main contributors to the increase were computer, electronic and optical products, the manufacture of transport equipment, and the manufacture of food products, beverages & tobacco, said ONS.

Data also showed that Britain's industrial output increased by 0.1 percent between the third and fourth quarter of 2014. Between 2013 and 2014, however, industrial output grew by 1.4 percent, with manufacturing output increasing by 2.7 percent.

Currently, the country's industrial production is still 10.5 percent below its pre-recession peak in the first quarter of 2008, while manufacturing is 5.1 percent below its peak, said ONS.

Though the latest data disappoints economists here, most of them believe that the oil price slump since last summer would boost production.

Paul Hollingsworth, UK economist at Capital Economics, said in a note: "The fall in oil prices looks set to provide some timely stimulus to the sector's recovery soon."

Martin Beck, senior economic adviser to the independent forecasting group EY Item Club, also commented: "Looking ahead, 2015 offers the prospect of an improving performance for manufacturing supported by the collapse in the oil price." Endit