British Industrial output dropped unexpectedly in October, falling at its fastest pace in more than a year, official data showed today, suggesting the sector got off to a poor start in the last quarter of the year.
The Office for National Statistics said industrial output fell 0.8 per cent on the month, the sharpest fall since August 2005 and confounding expectations of a 0.1 per cent rise.
The pound fell a third of a cent against the dollar and British interest rate futures rose as investors bet the Bank of England would not only keep rates on hold this week, but would not raise them any further in the coming months.
The central bank has lifted borrowing costs twice in the last four months, taking them to a five-year high of 5 per cent.
