Investing.com - Manufacturing production in the U.K. fell for the second straight month in November, dampening optimism over the country’s economic outlook, official data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, the U.K. Office for National Statistics said that manufacturing production decreased by a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in November, disappointing expectations for a gain of 0.1% and following a decline of 0.4% a month earlier.
On an annualized basis, manufacturing production fell at rate of 1.2%, worse than estimates for a decline of 0.8%, after declining at a rate of 0.2% in October.
The report also showed that industrial production fell by a seasonally adjusted 0.7%, compared to forecasts for a flat reading and following a gain of 0.1% in the preceding month.
GBP/USD sank to 1.4503 from around 1.4528 ahead of the announcement, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7491 from 0.7479 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were broadly higher. London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.6%, the EURO STOXX 50 tacked on 0.8%, France's CAC 40 rallied 1.2%, while Germany's DAX advanced 1.7%.