Investing.com - British industrial output suffered its sharpest fall in almost two years in November and retail spending disappointed over Christmas, data on Tuesday showed.
Industrial production dropped 0.7%, the steepest fall since January 2013, as unusually mild weather curbed demand for heating gas.
Manufacturing production fell 0.4% from a month earlier, the second straight monthly contraction.
Separately, the British Retail Consortium said retail spending rose by a "disappointing" 0.9% in the three months to December compared with a year earlier.
The weak data dented hopes that the economy bounced back from a mid-year slowdown at the end of 2015 and sent the pound falling to fresh five-and-a-half year lows against the dollar.