Industrial output rose by 2.1% in the three months to the end of June - the best gain since 1999. Included in that figure is manufacturing, which rose by 1.8%. This helped the overall economy grow by 0.6%, up from 0.4% the quarter before, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The figures came in spite of predicted uncertainty in the run-up to the EU referendum and subsequent Leave vote. “Any uncertainties in the run-up to the referendum seem to have had a limited effect,” said Joe Grice, ONS chief economist.
The new chancellor, Philip Hammond, tweeted that the figures prove that ‘Britain is open for business’, adding that he is ‘confident we have the tools to manage the challenges ahead.’
However, Simon Kirby, head of macroeconomic modelling and forecasting at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research is worried that all might not be as good as it seems for the rest of the year. “Our monthly GDP estimates suggest there has been a marked slowdown in the latter part of the quarter,” he told the BBC.
“We have limited data on the economy post-referendum, but what we do have points towards a significant deterioration in performance in the second half of 2016.”
