Investing.com – Manufacturing production in the UK rose more than forecast in July, bolstering optimism over the British economy, official data showed on Friday.
In a report, the UK Office for National Statistics said that manufacturing production increased 0.5% in July from the prior month, compared to expectations for a 0.3% rise and following a flat reading in the previous month.
On an annualized basis, manufacturing production rose 1.9% in July, beating forecasts for a 1.7% gain and after increasing at a rate of 0.6% in the previous month.
The report also showed that industrial production advanced by a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in July, in line with forecasts and compared to a 0.5% increase in the preceding month.
Year-on-year, industrial production rose by 0.4% in July, also in line with expectations and following the 0.3% advance registered a month earlier.
Immediately after the report, which was released simultaneously with the UK trade balance and construction output for the same month, GBP/USD was at 1.3139 from around 1.3138 ahead of the announcement, EUR/GBP was at 0.9170 from 0.9169 earlier, while GBP/JPY traded at 141.43 from 141.42 prior to the release.
Meanwhile, European stocks were trading lower. London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.24%, the Euro Stoxx 50 lost 0.20%, France's CAC 40 dropped 0.40%, while Germany's DAX traded down 0.15%.