U.K. industrial production rises 0.3% in March

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) released its manufacturing and industrial production figures for the U.K. on Wednesday. Industrial production in the U.K. rose 0.3% in March, missing forecasts of a 0.5% increase, after a 0.2% fall in February. February's figure was revised up from a 0.3% decline.

The increase was mainly driven by a rise in electricity, gas, steam & air conditioning output, which climbed by 3.3% in March.

On a yearly basis, industrial production in the U.K. decreased 0.2% in March, beating expectations for a 0.4% drop, after a 0.1% increase in February. February's figure was revised up from a 0.5% fall.

The decline was driven by a drop in manufacturing, which slid 1.9% year-on-year in March.

Manufacturing production in the U.K. was up 0.1% in March, missing expectations for a 0.3% gain, after a 0.9% decline in February. February's figure was revised up from a 1.1% decrease.

The rise was mainly driven by an increase in manufacture of transport equipment, which rose by 2.7% in March.

On a yearly basis, manufacturing production in the U.K. decreased 1.9% in March, in line with forecasts, after a 1.6% drop in February. It was the largest decrease since May 2013.

February's figure was revised up from a 1.8% decline.