Industrial production drops sharply
The UK could be facing a worse recession than previously thought, new data suggests.Bleak industrial production figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that output decreased by 1.7 per cent in October.This is more than three times higher than analysts' previous expectations.The new production data also brings the annual rate of decline to 5.2 per cent - the biggest one-year drop since the early 1990s."Latest manufacturing data and survey evidence have been dreadful, and the sector is now clearly in serious recession," Howard Archer at Global Insight commented. "Manufacturers are being hit hard by depressed domestic demand, very weak activity in key export markets, tight credit conditions, and intense competition."Paul Dales, UK economist at Capital Economics, said: "Looking ahead, the marked deterioration in overseas activity in recent months suggests that things are only going to get worse from here."Current official government predictions suggest that GDP will shrink by between 0.75 and 1.25 per cent in 2009.
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