Boost for Manufacturing Output

March manufacturing output jumped 2.3% compared with February, the biggest monthly rise since July 2002 which surprised economists who had predicted an increase of just 0.4%. Output in the sector rose 1.2% in the first quarter as a whole, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

Broader industrial production, which includes mining and utilities, grew by 2% on a monthly basis, and by 1.2% on a quarterly basis.

The data will be a welcome boost to the new Government, and heightens the prospect that gross domestic product in the first three months of the year will be revised.

Growth in production in March was driven by widespread improvement in manufacturing, particularly car and metals manufacturing. A weak pound is supporting the sector by making British goods more competitive abroad.

In its latest assessment of growth, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) estimated the economy grew by 0.5% in the three months to April.