According to the report from Office for National Statistics, production output rose by 1.4% in Quarter 1 compared with Quarter 4 2018, due to rises from manufacturing, and mining and quarrying.

The quarterly increase of 2.2% in manufacturing is due mainly to rises of 9.4% from pharmaceuticals, 2.7% from food products, beverages and tobacco, and 3.2% from metals and metal products.

Production output rose by 0.7% between February 2019 and March 2019. Economists had expected a 0.1% increase. The manufacturing sector provided the largest upward contribution, rising by 0.9%, its third consecutive monthly rise.

In March 2019, the monthly increase in manufacturing output was due to rises in 8 of the 13 subsectors and follows a 1.0% rise in February 2019; the largest upward contribution came from pharmaceutical products, which rose by 4.0%.

In Quarter 1 2019, production output increased by 0.6% compared with Quarter 1 2018; with notable rises in manufacturing of 1.2% and mining and quarrying of 6.0%, partially offset by a fall of 5.9% from electricity and gas.