08.12.2009
Official figures from the UK today showed that manufacturing output from the country’s factories showed no growth in October.
UK manufacturing output fell by 7.8pc when compared with October 2008, figures from the Office of National Statistics showed.
The ONS also said that the UK’s industrial production output remained flat between September and October but was down by 8.4pc on an annual basis.
Retail sales slow down
On the eve of UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling’s pre-budget report, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) had more bad news as it reported a November slowdown in annual retail sales.
The BRC said annual retail sales fell to 1.8pc during the month, which represents a three-month low.
“We would have expected much stronger growth because the comparison is with very poor results in 2008 when November was the second worst performing month of the year,” said the BRC Director General, Stephen Robertson.
“Consumer confidence is fragile and has taken a turn for the worse. We're the only major economy still in recession. Uncertainty over jobs and future tax increases and Government spending cuts is making customers more cautious. Retailers are hopeful of a better Christmas than last year's dire performance, but it's still all to play for,” he added.
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