LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s economic output contracted unexpectedly by 0.1% in January, pulled down by a sharp drop in manufacturing output compared with December, data from the Office for National Statistics showed on Friday.
A Reuters poll of economists had forecast a monthly expansion of 0.1%. While January’s drop only partially reverses a 0.4% expansion in December, the reading nonetheless represents a disappointment for finance minister Rachel Reeves, whose number one mission is to get the economy growing.
Over the three months to January, the economy expanded by 0.2%, slightly weaker than the 0.3% Reuters poll consensus.
Manufacturing output slumped by 1.1% in January alone, with the metals and pharmaceutical sectors performing especially poorly, while the broader industrial sector was also hurt by a fall in oil and gas extraction.
Output in the dominant services sector grew by 0.1%, marking the third straight month-on-month expansion.
Construction output slipped by 0.2%, with the ONS citing anecdotal evidence from companies of stormy weather hitting construction activity.
(Reporting by Andy Bruce and David Milliken; Editing by Kate Holton)
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