Official figures show that British industrial output rose twice as fast as expected in May, boosted by the shipbuilding industry and rising oil output.
The Office for National Statistics said industrial output rose 0.6% in May, its biggest jump since November.
The ONS said the recovery was helped by the completion of major shipbuilding work and rising output from the North Sea Buzzard oil field.
Manufacturing output also rose faster than expected, up 0.4% on the month against forecasts for a 0.3% increase. Output from the manufacturing sector has now risen for three consecutive months - the longest unbroken run of gains since March to May 2004.
The figures, which were made available to the Bank of England before Thursday's interest rate rise, show the manufacturing sector is holding up well in the face of a strong sterling.
