UK manufacturing output falls 1.2 percent in March-May quarter, dampens hopes of recovery

UK mfg output down 1.2 percent in quarter

LONDON — The government is reporting that U.K. manufacturing output fell by 1.2 percent in the March-May quarter compared to the previous three months.

The data released Tuesday further dampens expectations of a rapid recovery from the recession, which is believed to have hit bottom in the first quarter.

Output of all production industries dropped by 1.8 percent in the quarter.

The Office for National Statistics says manufacturing output was 12.3 percent lower than in the comparable period a year earlier.

Vicky Redwood, economist at Capital Economics, says the numbers suggest that a recovery in manufacturing was weaker than earlier numbers hinted.

But Redwood adds that “industry still looks likely to post a much smaller fall in the second quarter overall than in the first quarter, thus boosting quarterly GDP growth.”