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British industrial output up 0.1 pct in Feb., but lower than expected

Xinhua, April 10, 2015 Adjust font size:

British industrial output edged up by 0.1 percent in February 2015 compared with February 2014, worse than the market estimation consensus of a 0.3-percent increase, data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) showed Friday.

Two of the main sectors saw output increase in February, with manufacturing output being the largest contributor, expanding by 1.1 percent, said ONS.

Compared with the output in January, however, total production output in Britain grew by 0.1 percent in February, with three out of four main sectors increasing their outputs, figures showed.

In the three months leading up to February, production and manufacturing were at 10.4 percent and 4.9 percent respectively, below figures reached in the pre-downturn gross domestic product (GDP) peak in the first quarter of 2008, said ONS.

ONS also released the output data for the construction industry, showing that output was estimated to have decreased by 0.9 percent in February this year compared with the previous month.

Martin Beck, senior economic adviser to the EY ITEM club, said in a note that the industrial production and construction data was a "major disappointment."

The London-based economic forecaster reckoned that the preliminary estimate of British GDP growth for the first quarter of 2015 could come in as low as just 0.4 percent. But it maintained its forecast of a 3.0 increase in British GDP in 2015, as the businesses survey data is bullish.

Samuel Tombs, senior economist at Capital Economics, said in an analysis piece the latest figures suggested a "disappointingly weak" growth of GDP for the first quarter.

But the London-based company estimated that British GDP growth in the first quarter would be at a "healthy 3.0 percent" in 2015, as lower crude prices, cheaper credit, and stronger demand in the euro zone would continue to boost economic recovery. Endit