OUTPUT in Britain’s manufacturing industry rebounded in August after its post-Brexit woes.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said manufacturing output rose 0.2 per cent in August, after a sharp contraction in July when activity fell by 0.9 per cent.

The recovery was driven by a 2.5 per cent rise in the production of transport equipment over the period, after falling 1.6 per cent in July.

However, industrial production suffered, dropping 0.4 per cent in August.

The decline was triggered in part by mining and quarrying output, which decreased by 3.7 per cent over the period.

Kate Davies, ONS senior statistician, said: “Manufacturing output was up slightly in August with more cars built, with limited evidence suggesting the lower pound boosted exports.

“Nevertheless, this was offset by a fall in oil and gas production, with some field shutdowns contributing to the fall, meaning UK production as a whole was down.”

The ONS also revealed Britain’s trade gap widened in August, despite hopes that a weaker pound had been boosting exports in the wake of the Brexit vote.

The UK’s deficit on trade in goods and services hit £4.7 billion in August, widening by £2.5 billion from July.

Figures showed that imports rose by £2.6 billion, while exports only grew by £100 million.

It comes despite hopes that the post-Brexit slump in sterling would help support Britain’s export industry.

Howard Archer, chief European and UK economist at IHS Markit, said: “After a stream of resilient and reassuring data on the UK economy, the August trade and industrial production data are somewhat disappointing.”