UK Manufacturing Output Soars in July

Manufacturing sector activity in July recovered more than its losses from a Jubilee-disrupted June, according to official data, with overall production in the UK also regaining its lost ground and some in welcome news for the recession-struck UK economy.

Basic metals and metal products gave the biggest uplift for manufacturing, while the mining and quarrying sector offered the most significant boost for overall production, said the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in its Index of Production for July 2012 report.

Month-on-month manufacturing sector output grew by 3.2 percent in July, seasonally adjusted, after collapsing by 2.9 percent in June - its sharpest fall in four years - because of an extra day off for the workforce to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

Overall production output lifted by 2.9 percent in July after its June fall of 2.4 percent.

This positive news follows other research from the manufacturing sector showing an easing decline in activity.

Private industry data compiled from surveys of purchasing managers revealed the manufacturing sector's contraction slowed in August, to near neutral.

Weak new order demand continues to hamper UK manufacturers, as growth in emerging economies slows, the eurozone crisis rumbles on, and a domestic recession continues to bite, but rising employment, lower input costs, and higher margins are all willing the sector back to expansion, said the PMI report compiled by Markit.

Other research, by industry group EEF, showed that despite the gloomy economic environment blighting manufacturing firms they still intend to make investments in the near future.

Britain is mired in the longest double-dip recession since the Second World War. The economy has been contracting since the end of 2011 and GDP declined by -0.5 percent in the second quarter of this year.