British manufacturing output grew for the second month in a row in May, rising at its fastest annual rate since October 2003, official data showed on Tuesday. The Office for National Statistics said output of the manufacturing sector, which accounts for around one fifth of the economy, grew 0.5 percent on the month in May, compared to analysts' expectations of a rise of 0.3 percent. The rise was boosted by particularly strong growth in output of transport equipment and basic metals and metal products, the ONS said.
This took the annual rate of growth in manufacturing to 2.0 percent, the highest rate since October 2003, when it was 2.5 percent and compared to expectations of a rise of 1.5 percent. The wider measure of industrial production, which includes North Sea oil and gas output, also rose 0.5 percent on the month in May, to stand 1.3 percent higher than a year earlier. On a three-month basis, which smoothes out monthly volatility, industrial production rose 0.6 percent compared to the previous three months, its highest rate of growth since November 2002. The figures constitute the second month of convergence between official and survey data. Previously, industry surveys had shown the manufacturing sector in recovery while the official data had shown it contracting.///