British industrial output rose slightly faster than expected in November, helped by a jump in oil and gas extraction, but manufacturing unexpectedly stagnated for a second month, official data showed on Wednesday.
The figures are likely to support expectations that Britain's economy emerged from its deepest recession for more than 50 years at the end of 2009, though weak manufacturing raises concerns about the sustainability of any recovery.
"At face value headline industrial production is not a bad number, but it is disconcerting that manufacturing went sideways," said Alan Clarke, economist at BNP Paribas.
"If manufacturing can't expand when there are so many favourable tailwinds — currency weakness, end of destocking and rebounding global demand — when can it?"
The Office for National Statistics said industrial output rose 0.4 percent in November after a downwardly-revised 0.1 percent decline in October. This gave a 6.0 percent year-on-year decline, easing from October's 8.4 percent fall.
Analysts had expected a monthly rise in output of 0.3 percent.
Sterling rose against the dollar and the euro after the news, but economists were cautious as the boost from oil and gas extraction caused by the end of seasonal maintenance would likely prove to be a one-off.
The data is likely to increase the Bank of England's concern about how firm a footing the economy is on when it considers whether to expand its 200 billion pound quantitative easing policy next month.
Most economists doubt the BoE will do so, and in an interview conducted before the data, policymaker Andrew Sentance said the central bank was close to the point where it could decide to put its QE programme on hold.
"At some point you have to say we have increased the amount of stimulus enough," he said in Wednesday's Guardian newspaper. "It doesn't mean you are going to withdraw it but you don't have to keep adding to it."
Manufacturing output unexpectedly showed zero growth for a second month running, and the annual decline slowed less than forecast to 5.4 percent from 7.8 percent.
This came as a particular surprise to economists as surveys by the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply and the Confederation of British Industry had indicated that the sector grew over the period.
The ONS said six of the 13 manufacturing sub-sectors recorded monthly falls, six rose and one was unchanged.
Rises in aerospace and motor vehicle production were offset by falls in the output of arms and general machinery as well as food, drink and tobacco.
"It is evident that the manufacturing sector is still struggling to develop a decent recovery after a largely dismal 2009," said Howard Archer, economist at IHS Global Insight.
Industrial output was falling at a record annual pace when the BoE launched QE in March, but Wednesday's data showed that manufacturing output rose 0.3 percent in the three months to November — the fastest rate since March 2008 and the first positive reading since April 2008.
The main driver behind November's pick-up in industrial output was a 7.2 percent rise in oil and gas extraction, the biggest monthly increase since September 2008 after an end to maintenance work which had depressed previous months' output.
This added 0.9 percentage points to November's industrial output, although some of this was offset by declines in utilities output, which fell 3.5 percent on the month.
