United Kingdom: Industrial output contracts at sharpest pace on record in April
Industrial output fell 20.3% month-on-month in seasonally-adjusted terms in April, which was a larger contraction than March’s 4.2% decrease. April’s result marked the worst reading on record.
Looking at the details of the release, April’s downturn was largely driven by a fall in manufacturing output. Furthermore, production also contracted in both the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply, and water supply sub-sectors.
On a year-on-year basis, factory output plunged 24.4% in April, which was notably below March’s 8.2% fall. The reading also marked the worst result on record. Meanwhile, the trend pointed down, with the annual average variation of industrial production coming in at minus 4.6% in April, down from March’s minus 2.7%.