British industrial production rises 2.3%

British industrial output increased by 2.3 percent between March 2013 and March 2014, said Office for National Statistics (ONS) Friday. Production output increased by 0.7 percent between the fourth quarter of 2013 and the first quarter of 2014, slightly lower than the 0.8 percent given in an April 29 estimate, said ONS. Compare with a month before, however, British industrial output decreased by 0.1 percent in March, data showed. "Overall growth was dragged down by a lackluster performance in oil and gas and the utilities sector. But manufacturing output saw its fourth consecutive monthly expansion, the longest consistent run of growth since 2006," said Martin Beck, senior economic adviser to the EY ITEM Club in a note.