Eurozone jitters blamed for drop along with steep fall in energy production brought on by plunging oil price
Britain’s factories maintained their slow recovery in the runup to Christmas, but the rise in manufacturing output failed to offset falls in mining and energy, leaving industrial production down 0.2% in December.
Analysts blamed jitters over the eurozone’s return to health for keeping the UK’s productive sectors subdued, alongside a steep fall in oil and gas production in the North Sea brought on by the collapse in oil prices.
Related: Oil price fall will boost Britain’s economic growth, says thinktank