Britons spend more despite inflation pressures and Brexit uncertainty
London — British industrial output fell unexpectedly in September but consumers kept up spending despite rising inflation pressure and Brexit uncertainty. Industry weighed on otherwise robust economic growth in the third quarter, official figures showed on Tuesday. By contrast, two private sector surveys pointed to a surge in consumer spending in October. Taken together, the surveys painted a familiar picture of the economy with household spending leading growth and industry and investment lagging. Industrial output fell 0.4% month on month in September, repeating August’s weak performance, said the Office for National Statistics said. Economists polled by Reuters had expected it to stagnate. The fall was due to warm weather, which hit power output, and maintenance shutdowns in North Sea oil and gas fields. Factory output grew 0.6%, the biggest rise since April’s surge, but was down 0.9% for the third quarter. "While the September number is good news, we hesitate to get too excited ...
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