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British manufacturing rebounds in March

The figures were released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) ahead of a widely-expected decision by the Bank of England to hike British interest rates by a quarter-point to 5.50 percent.

The manufacturing performance in March followed a downwardly-revised fall of 0.7 percent in February, which compared with an initial estimate of a 0.6-percent drop.

The revised data was the worst showing since March 2005 when output fell by 2.3 percent month-on-month.

However, analysts focused on news of the “healthy” rebound in March.

“The healthy rebound in manufacturing activity in March is likely to reinforce the Bank of England’s concerns that firms will continue to become more confident in their pricing power and maintains pressure for higher interest rates,” Global Insight economist Howard Archer said.

Analysts’ consensus forecasts had been for an output increase in March of 0.4 percent. Manufactured output accounts for 14.7 percent of the British economy.

On a 12-month basis, manufactured output climbed 0.9 percent in February, the ONS added, which beat market expectations for an increase of 0.8 percent.

The ONS added that 11 of the 13 manufacturing sub-sectors grew in March from February, with the largest rise coming in machinery and equipment where output increased by 1.2 percent.

The wider industrial production measure, which accounts for around 18.6 percent of British gross domestic product, climbed by 0.3 percent in March from February.

On a year-on-year basis, industrial production was 0.2-percent lower.