AN unexpected plunge in the official measure of UK manufacturing output in April has raised even further the chances that the recession-hit economy will suffer a third consecutive quarter of contraction in the three months to June.
Data published yesterday by the Office for National Statistics showed that UK manufacturing output tumbled by 0.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis between March and April.
The City had predicted that it would have been flat month-on-month in April, so the tumble wrongfooted economists.
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