Jubilee boosts manufacturing picture

The ONS reported that the largest contributions to the month-on-month rise in manufacturing output were the manufacture of transport equipment industries, which rose by 3.7%, followed by the manufacture of food, drink & tobacco, which rose by 2.2%. Feedback from businesses in the food and drink industries indicated that warm weather and increased demand due to the Diamond Jubilee were factors contributing to the increase in production. In contrast, the manufacture of pharmaceutical products & preparations industries fell by 3.9%. The statisticians added that the end of May bank holiday was moved to June resulting in an additional working day in May, which may have been a contributing factor to the month-on-month growth Commenting on the latest data, EEF chief cconomist Lee Hopley said the gains in both manufacturing production and exports brought a welcome turnaround from the recent run of negative economic news. She continued: "On the trade front, despite the global economy looking more fragile, exports to non-EU markets rose strongly, and there was a pick up in exports to the troubled eurozone. However, the story since the turn of the year has been one of volatility rather than recovery. There is still a risk that if we continue to see significant uncertainty around prospects in key markets, we're likely to see indicators continue to bump around current levels."