Britain’s Summer Sun Left Industry in the Dark

  • Industrial output boosted by oil as manufacturing stagnates
  • Wider deficit means trade makes no contribution to 2Q GDP

The OECD warned that regions reliant on manufacturing are exposed to the risk of global protectionism

Photographer: Matthew Lloyd/Bloomberg
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The U.K. economy ended the second quarter on a disappointing note as manufacturing stagnated and the trade deficit unexpectedly widened.

Manufacturing was unchanged in June as production of vehicles plunged 6.7 percent, the most since the end of 2013, according to the Office for National Statistics. That means factory output hasn’t grown in any month this year.