--UK May industry output down 0.9% on mo, down 1.9% on yr
--UK May manufacturing output dn 0.9% on mo, down 1.6% on yr
--UK May manufacturing output well below expectations
--ONS: BOE MPC saw UK May industry data at July meeting
--UK Apr mfg output rev down at -1.0% on mo from -0.9% on mo
--UK Mar-May manufacturing output -1.6% vs Dec-Feb; -0.5% on yr
--UK Mar-May industry -0.9% vs Dec-Feb; -0.9% on yr
--ONS: Most of UK May mfg fall from electrical, optical sector
--UK May mining, quarrying output +1.7% on mo, -4.7% on yr
--UK May utilities output -2.6% on mo, -1.4% on yr
--UK May industry output fall on year biggest since Nov 1991
--UK May mfg output fall on year biggest since June 1999
--ONS: UK mfg yrly trend estimate now -4.0% vs prev -2.0%
--ONS: UK industry yrly trend estimate now -3.0% vs prev -2.5%

London, July 6 (BridgeNews) - The global collapse in demand for technology goods took its toll once again on the struggling U.K. manufacturing sector in May, according to figures published Friday by the Office for National Statistics. Output fell 0.9% on the previous month and was 1.6% lower than the same year ago, much weaker than forecasts of a fall of about 0.1% on the month but broadly in line with the 1.0% monthly fall in April. Total industrial output also fell 0.9% on the month and was 1.9% lower than a year ago, also weaker than forecast.
The ONS said two thirds of the monthly manufacturing fall was accounted for by weakness in the electrical and optical equipment sector, which includes computers, semi-conductors and mobile phones. The sector, which had been the powerhouse of the manufacturing sector throughout 2000, has now been in decline since February.
The bleak picture for manufacturers was reinforced by a big downward revision on the ONS' estimate of the sector's trend rate of growth. It is now estimated to be falling at around 4.0% a year, a much faster rate of contraction than last month's 2.0% estimate.
The trend estimate for industrial output is now a fall of 3.0%, compared with 2.5% last month.
The ONS confirmed that the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee had had the figures before its July meeting, when it voted to leave interest rates unchanged at 5.25%. The committee faces a familiar policy dilemma - the industrial sector is in massive difficulty but the consumer sector appears to be powering ahead unaffected.