Manufacturing expanded at the fastest rate since April in September, with no sign of a Brexit blow or boost, but a dive in the oil and gas sector meant that figures for wider industrial production were disappointing. According to the Office for National Statistics, manufacturing rose by 0.6 per cent in September compared with the previous month, beating economists’ expectations of a 0.2 per cent increase. However, September’s improvement was not enough to offset falls in July and October, meaning that manufacturing, which accounts for 70 per cent of the UK’s industrial output, fell by 0.9 per cent over the third quarter. This was the worst performance in nearly four years. The ONS said that it had yet to note any direct evidence of any…

Source: The Times November 08, 2016 12:04 UTC