Mubasher: UK industrial production growth eased in the second quarter of 2018, but the sector expanded in June data released on Friday showed.

The production index fell 0.8% in the second quarter ended last June, compared with the first quarter ended March, the National Office for Statistics (ONS) said.

This was ascribed to a decline of 0.9% in manufacturing, with a slide of 2.7% in energy supply.

However, total production grew by 1.4% year-on-year over the three-month period ended last June, mainly on the back of an annual rise of 1.3% in manufacturing output.

However, the total UK industrial production was estimated to have grown by 0.4% in June, compared with May, driven by monthly gains of 0.4% and 1.6% in manufacturing and water and waste sectors respectively.

By 9:25 am GMT, the GBP/USD pair fell 0.37% to $1.2776, while the EUR/GBP pair went down 0.16% to GBP 0.8974.