Investing.com - Manufacturing production in the U.K. fell unexpectedly in April, while industrial output topped forecasts, official data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the U.K. Office for National Statistics said that manufacturing production declined by a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in April, disappointing expectations for an increase of 0.1% and following a 0.4% gain in the preceding month.
On an annualized basis, manufacturing production rose at rate of 0.2%, missing estimates for a gain of 0.4%, after rising at a rate of 1.2% in March.
The report also showed that industrial production rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in April, beating expectations for a 0.1% gain, after increasing 0.6% in March.
GBP/USD was trading at 1.5446 from around 1.5434 ahead of the announcement, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7339 from 0.7342 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets held on to modest gains. London’s FTSE 100 tacked on 0.2%, the EURO STOXX 50 inched up 0.1%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.1%, while Germany's DAX added 0.1%.