Official figures show that UK manufacturing output rose at its fastest pace in more than a year in May as factories ramped up output after a Royal Wedding-related drop in April.
Industrial output, however, failed to fully recoup April's losses and the figures are unlikely to alter expectations that the Bank of England will leave interest rates at 0.5% for some months to come.
The Office for National Statistics said manufacturing output - which does not include utilities or oil and gas extraction - rose by 1.8% in May, after a downwardly revised drop of 1.6% in April. The May rise was the strongest showing since March 2010 and also beat economists' expectations.
The wider measure of industrial output rose by a below-forecast 0.9% in May, making up only half of April's drop. A sharp fall in oil and gas production due to unplanned maintenance work was largely to blame.
Britain's manufacturing sector has been one of the few bright spots in the economy, which otherwise appears to be struggling to gain momentum.
Surveys of services, manufacturing and construction this week suggest that the wider economy grew just 0.3% in the second quarter after disappointing 0.5% growth in the first three months of the year.
Assessing the strength of the recovery has been complicated, however, by the extra public holiday for the Royal Wedding on April 29. In addition, many manufacturers have been hit by supply chain disruptions - particularly to the car industry - caused by Japan's earthquake and tsunami in March.
