The pound is tumbling on Wednesday after a disappointing set of industrial production data suggested that the post-Brexit vote economy may not be holding up as well as expected.
Industrial output in the UK fell by 1.3% in the month of October making an already troubling picture for the sector even more bleak in the aftermath of the vote to leave the European Union, according to the latest data released by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday.
That sent the pound, which was already a little lower for the day, sharply downwards, and as of 12.20 p.m. GMT (7.20 a.m. ET) it has stayed lower, trading below $1.26.
The industrial production numbers compared to the forecasts of economists, who predicted a small expansion of 0.2%. On a year-to-year basis, industrial production contracted by 1.1%, against a forecast of 0.5% growth.
“In October 2016, total production is estimated to have decreased by 1.3% compared with September 2016. Mining and quarrying provided the largest downward pressure, due to ongoing maintenance reducing production in the oil and gas extraction industry,” an ONS data release said.
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