7 October 2009

… Factory output falls in U.K.

In another sign the global economic recovery may be slow, manufacturing output in the U.K. fell during August, officials said Tuesday. That news overshadowed upbeat data on housing prices and car sales.

Manufacturing output fell by 1.9% on the month in August, led by decreases of 2.4% in paper, printing, and publishing and in the electrical and optical goods sectors, the U.K. Office for National Statistics said.

Meanwhile, new car registrations rose 11.4% in September compared to a year ago, boosted by government-backed car scrapping plans, an industry group said. A major mortgage lender separately said house prices rose 1.6% in September, largely because few homes were available to buy.

Despite these improvements, the drop in manufacturing looks like Britain’s recovery from recession will not be as robust as once thought.

For the three months through August, factory output was unchanged overall despite a 7.8% rise in transport equipment and 9.3% in wood products. Production of consumer durables dropped 1.4%, nondurable good fell by 1.6%, and capital goods rose by 1.4%.

Mining and quarrying output fell 2.1% in the quarter, dropping to 7.7% below year-ago levels. Electricity, gas, and water supply rose 0.1%.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said consumers registered 367,929 in September. Registrations of private cars rose by 41.3% last month, and year-to-date volumes are now within 1.9% of last year’s level, the society said.