UK industrial production rose more than economists forecast in March as cold weather boosted demand for electricity and gas.
Output added 0.7 percent from February, when it gained 0.9 percent, the Office for National Statistics said yesterday in London. The median forecast of 31 economists in a Bloomberg News survey was for a gain of 0.2 percent. Electricity and gas surged 2.4 percent, the most since October. The data also showed that production gained 0.2 percent in the first quarter, matching an estimate in last month's gross domestic product report.
Britain's economy grew 0.3 percent in the three months through March and surveys suggest that the recovery may have continued into this quarter. Bank of England policy makers meeting yesterday might maintain their target for asset purchases at 375 billion pounds (US$583 billion) as they weigh risks to the rebound from the decline in the fourth quarter.
The data "suggest that the economic recovery gained some momentum toward the end of the first quarter," said Samuel Tombs, an economist at Capital Economics Ltd in London. Still, "we doubt that this strong growth will be maintained. With the eurozone still deep in recession, any recovery in the export-dependent industrial sector this year is likely to be limp at best."
The increase in electricity and gas production was partly due to the weather, according to the statistics office, which said it was the coldest March since 1962. From a year earlier, electricity and gas jumped 10.9 percent, the most since April 2008. Mining and quarrying fell 2 percent in March from February, while oil and gas extraction shed 1.8 percent.
Manufacturing rose 1.1 percent in March, exceeding the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey for a rise of 0.3 percent. Out of 13 categories in manufacturing, eight fell in March from February, while five rose. The gain on the month was led by basic metals and metal products as well as computer and electrical equipment.
Cambridge-based CSR Plc, a maker of products for the automotive navigation industry and digital cameras, said on Wednesday first-quarter revenue grew 5 percent from a year earlier and was ahead of its expectations.