UK Manufacturing Hit by Car Shutdowns, Trade Deficit Surges

British manufacturing output fell hard in July, hit by an earlier than usual summer shutdown of vehicle production lines, and the country’s trade deficit widened sharply, official data showed on Wednesday.

Output in manufacturing contracted by 0.8 percent from June, contrasting with a forecast for a 0.2 percent increase in the Reuters poll of economists.

The weak factory numbers dragged down overall industrial output which showed a fall of 0.4 percent in July when economists had expected a slight increase on the month.

Britain’s manufacturers have struggled to make much headway this year thanks to a combination of weak demand in Europe and other economies around the world and the strengthening of the pound.

A group representing the sector said this week it had halved its forecast for growth this year after overseas orders fell to their lowest since the financial crisis.

The weakness in manufacturing has increased Britain’s dependence on its dominant services sector to power growth in the economy, complicating the challenge for the Bank of England as it ponders when to start raising interest rates.

The Office for National Statistics said manufacturing suffered its first fall in yearly terms in July since August 2013.

“The biggest single factor in the fall in manufacturing was motor vehicle production, with the summer shutdowns appearing to start earlier than usual, along with anecdotal evidence showing a slowdown in exports,” ONS chief economist Joe Grice said.

“There has also been a fall-back in the manufacture of weapons, following a big rise in June.”

Reuters

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.