LONDON -- Industrial output across Britain surprisingly slid in May, official data showed on Tuesday.
Output fell by 0.7% in May compared with a gain of 0.3% in April, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
Analysts' consensus forecast was for another gain of 0.3% in May, according to a survey by Dow Jones Newswires.
Over a 12 month period, industrial output jumped by 2.3% in May, the ONS added, also falling below market expectations for a gain of 3.2%.
Manufacturing output -- which excludes mining and quarrying, electricity, gas and water supply -- dropped 1.3% in May compared with April. It increased by 3.7% year-on-year.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2014
