The 0.5% monthly rise in overall UK industrial production in March was the biggest increase in six months (the consensus forecast was no change). Although it was partly driven by a rebound in the mining sector after a sharp fall in output in Feb, it was encouraging that core manufacturing output in Mar also posted a decent monthly rise of 0.4%.
March's industrial production figures were a tentatively encouraging sign that a recovery in the sector is resuming after several months of stagnation.
Admittedly, given the normal volatility of the figures, we should not read too much into the improvement. Indeed, the improvement it is not big enough to make any difference to the ONS's preliminary estimate of a 0.3% quarterly rise in overall GDP in Q1.
"There are reasons to think that this could mark a turning point for the industrial sector. Nonetheless, we remain hopeful that we should see at least a little rebalancing of the economy this year." said Capital Economics
