Investing.com - Manufacturing production in the U.K. fell unexpectedly in May, while industrial output topped forecasts, official data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, the U.K. Office for National Statistics said that manufacturing production declined by a seasonally adjusted 0.6% in May, disappointing expectations for an increase of 0.1% and following a 0.4% drop in April.
On an annualized basis, manufacturing production rose at rate of 1.0%, missing estimates for a gain of 1.8%, after rising at a rate of 0.1% in April.
The report also showed that industrial production rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in May, beating expectations for a decline of 0.2%, after increasing 0.3% in the preceding month.
GBP/USD was trading at 1.5539 from around 1.5534 ahead of the announcement, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7067 from 0.7070 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were mixed. London’s FTSE 100 shed 0.2%, the EURO STOXX 50 inched up 0.15%, France's CAC 40 dipped 0.1%, while Germany's DAX added 0.1%.