Hopes for putting Britain's factories at the centre of the economic recovery suffered another setback as official figures showed the manufacturing sector fell for the second month in a row in May.
A 0.6 per cent worse-than-expected decline reported by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), shows output was dragged down by a fall in production of basic metals and metal products.
Economists had expected a fall of 0.2 per cent, with this slide coming on top of a 0.4 per cent decline in April.
But the wider industrial production sector lifted by a better-than-expected 0.4 per cent in May, boosted by a rise in output in mining and quarrying.
Experts had expected a rise of just 0.1 per cent, which builds on a rise of 0.4 per cent the previous month.
However, the slump in manufacturing dents hopes of a re-balancing of the recovery, which is being led by consumer spending and the dominant services sector.
The figures come ahead of Chancellor George Osborne's summer Budget on Wednesday where he will present the first fully Conservative Budget since November 1996, after his party won an outright majority at the May General Election.
The ONS said manufacturing in the three months to May was 4.6 per cent below its level at the start of the recession in 2008.
Markit chief economist Chris Williamson said: "A second successive monthly fall in manufacturing output means the goods producing sector will act as a drag on the economy in the second quarter, leaving the upturn reliant once again on the service sector.
"The disappointing performance of the country's factories, linked in part to competitiveness being hit by the strong pound, will no doubt act as a deterrent to any imminent hike in interest rates."
IHS Global Insight chief UK economist Howard Archer added: "The recent softness in manufacturing output increases pressure on the Chancellor to come up with meaningful measures in the budget to help the sector and boost productivity."
HSBC UK chief economist Simon Wells said: "The UK is looking at a lost decade of manufacturing and there is no sign of a turnaround soon."
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