Manufacturers see 0.3 per cent rise in output

Manufacturers recorded another month of steady growth yesterday as firms continued to defy recent gloomy forecasts over the sector's recovery. The 0.3 per cent rise in output during August reported by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) left the annual growth rate at 6 per cent, the fastest pace since the end of 1994 as the sector recovers from a brutal recession.

Other surveys in recent weeks have suggested the rally may be fading as firms begin to see much slower demand. The sector has been boosted so far by customers replacing stockpiles used up in the recession, although this temporary effect is expected to reduce as the year progresses.