Manufacturing remains flat in third quarter

Oil and gas sector suffers weak quarter following widespread summer maintenance shutdowns

Factory output increased by 0.6% in September, beating economists' forecasts, according to latest figures.

The sector still contracted by 0.9% in the third quarter, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics, although modest growth in August and September could signal that manufacturers are building momentum.

However, the figures revealed that over the past year manufacturing output was only up by 0.2% as the sector has struggled to grow consistently.

The ONS statistics revealed that the oil and gas sector went into reverse in the three month period, with output diving by 4%, mainly due to maintenance on North Sea rigs.

The electricity and water supply sectors also contracted as warm weather hit demand for heating, leading to overall production industry output falling by 0.4% in September.

ONS statistician Kate Davies said: “Manufacturing was broadly flat across the third quarter while oil and gas were weak overall, with widespread summer maintenance shutdowns hampering production more than usual.

“There are no obvious signs so far of either the weaker pound or post-referendum uncertainties affecting the output of UK factories, which continued broadly in line with recent trends,” she added.