UK manufacturing output rises by 0.3% in July

Factory output had its best annual gain since 1994

UK manufacturing output rose 0.3% in July from the month earlier, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The figure, which excludes mining and the oil and gas sectors, took the rise for the year to 4.9%, the best annual gain since 1994.

Industrial output, which includes these sectors, also rose 0.3% in July, recovering from a 0.5% in June, and taking the annual rate to 1.9%.

The machinery and equipment sectors saw the biggest rise in July, the ONS said.

"It's a decent reading," said George Buckley, UK economist at Deutsche Bank.

"But I think it's going to be quite difficult to achieve the same rates of growth (going forward) that we saw in the first and second quarters of this year."

Philip Shaw, analyst at Investec, said: "It's encouraging and we think the outlook for manufacturing remains on the positive side, not just on general recovery grounds but possibly also on reasonable export prospects."

The ONS said there was scope for further gains in industrial output as more oil rigs came back on stream in August.

Oil and gas output rose 0.8% in July after a 5.2% fall in June, but was still 8.4% lower than the same month a year ago.