February 9, 2006	Thursday	Muharram 10, 1427

LONDON, Feb 8: Britain’s manufacturing output fell during 2005, official figures showed on Wednesday, recording the first annual decline since 2002, despite a pick-up towards the end of last year.

Manufacturing output, which accounts for about 18 per cent of Britain’s gross domestic product (GDP), fell by 0.8 per cent last year compared with 2004, the office for National Statistics said. The wider measure of industrial production, which includes also energy and mineral extraction, showed also a significant drop, according to Wednesday’s data.—AFP