Latest: UK industrial production output posts strongest rise since June 2013
Pound jumps one cent to $1.671.
Analysts: British growth could top 3% this year
International Monetary Fund to release new forecasts at 2pm BST
11.42am BST
Greece took another step towards financial normality this morning, selling short-term debt at the lowest interest rate since the debt crisis began four years ago.
Athens sold 1.3bn of six-month bonds at yields of just 3.01%, the lowest since January 2010. Around 80% of the debt went to foreign investors, according to one official, who told Reuters:
There was strong foreign interest, most of the issue went to foreign buyers.
11.29am BST
Back in Greece, striking journalists are marching through Greece in an anti-austerity protest, ahead of tomorrow's general strike.
University lecturer Spyros Gkelis tweets photos from the scene, via another eurocrisis watcher:
Riot police surrounding the Parliament and adjacent roads in view of journos rally to end up there pic.twitter.com/GlxRpmrapD v @MakisSinodinos
#Greece Journos and media technicians on strike today. A rally towards Parliament to follow . pic.twitter.com/lcQSi6NKUh v @MakisSinodinos
11.23am BST
The pound has jumped a whole cent against the US dollar to $1.671, as traders anticipate that the manufacturing revival will prompt the Bank of England to raise interest rates sooner.
11.12am BST
Here's my colleague Angela Monaghan's news story on the manufacturing data:
Heavy rainfall failed to dampen Britain's manufacturing sector in February with output growing much more strongly than expected, boosting the outlook for the wider economy.
Manufacturing output jumped 1% to the highest level in more than two-and-a-half years, while the broader industrial production measure, which includes utilities and mining, was up 0.9% according to the Office for National Statistics.
10.57am BST
...and the CEBR agrees with Berenberg (last post) that the UK economy could grow by more than 3% this year, based on this morning's industrial output data (details start here)
The Office for Budget Responsibility's latest estimate is that UK GDP will grow by 2.7% this year, but the CEBR's Danae Kyriakopoulou is more bullish:
As the level of business confidence in the UK economy continues to improve we expect the momentum shown by todays data to carry forward into the next quarter.
Overall Cebr expects UK GDP growth to exceed 3.0% in 2014 as a whole, placing the UK among the fastest-growing advanced economies this year, if not the fastest.
10.47am BST
Rob Wood of Berenberg bank says the 1% surge in UK manufacturing in February shows firms are benefitting from the Bank of England's loose monetary policy.
The recovery in the eurozone could give another boost, he added:
The UK rebound has much more momentum than consensus or the official forecasters seem to believe. Monetary policy is increasingly gaining traction and the recovery is snowballing into rising capital spending, real wages and more optimism.
Of course, manufacturing is heavily dependent on world trade and the global cycle. The strengthening Eurozone economy, where most leading indicators now signal around trend growth soon, could well add another leg to the so far domestically led UK manufacturing recovery. The hard and soft data pose an upside risk to our already above consensus growth forecasts of 3.0% for 2014 and 3.3% for 2015.
Manufacturing output gains were broad based across industries. This is not just a car making renaissance. Chemicals output is up 5.5% yoy, rubber and plastics rose 13.9%, basic metals 4.4%, machinery and other goods was up 9.2%. The production split by industrial grouping is interesting too. The recent strength is in consumer durables and intermediate goods. These are products that people buy, or produce, when they are optimistic about the economic future. And if there is one key story of the past six to twelve months in the UK, it is the return of belief in future growth. That is evidence in almost all forward looking business survey indicators, and increasingly in the hard data too.
10.46am BST
This chart, from the Indie's Ben Chu, makes the same point:
Manufacturing output up for third consecutive month in Feb. But don't forget still a long way from pre-crisis peak: pic.twitter.com/BIIz0uYZZn
10.28am BST
Despite this good performance in February, production output across British industry remains below its pre-crisis peak.
As this graph shows, manufacturing output only recently rose above its level in 2010:
On a global level, production output amongst the G7 nations has grown steadily since the trough reached in Q2 2009 and expanded by a further 1.2% in Q4 2013 compared with Q3 2013. Despite the upward trend achieved over the past four years, output [in the UK] remained 5.5% below the pre-downturn peak reached in Q1 2008.
This experience does however vary by country; for example production output in Japan, France, the UK and Italy remained more than 10% below their respective pre- downturn peaks.
10.19am BST
On a related note, the Times has a nice graphic today, showing the UK's top 10 export markets. The US leads the way, followed by five European nations. China is only sixth, and there's no sign of the other BRIC nations:
The UK's top ten export markets http://t.co/ejjlJE7rmy pic.twitter.com/H9I7l4kelW
10.17am BST
Lee Hopley, chief economist at EEF, the manufacturers organisation, agrees that Britain's manufacturings sector made a good start to 2014.
Here's her view of today's survey:
Manufacturing output headed higher, buoyed by a strong pick up in the pharmaceuticals, transport and food sectors. Output now stands at its highest level in more than two and a half years with companies reporting good trading conditions both at home and in overseas markets.
All manufacturing indicators are lining up for a strong first quarter growth rate, highlighting that industry remains a vital cog in the UKs continuing recovery.
10.08am BST
February's jump in industrial output suggests the UK economy posted solid growth in the first three months of this year.
Here's Jeremy Cook of World First's take:
The strong expansion in pharmaceuticals this month 9.3% higher comes after a 13.7% fall in the month previous, but strength was also reported in food and drink, and electronic sub-sectors.
We maintain our view that UK GDP will rise by 0.7% in Q1 following this number
10.03am BST
This chart from the ONS shows that Britain's manufacturing, pharmaceutical and mining companies drove February's jump in output:
9.53am BST
The instant reaction to this morning's strong UK manufacturing data is broadly favourable:
Good news! Total UK industrial production increased by 0.9% between January 2014 and February 2014. #GBP
Manufacturing gives further momentum to UK recovery. Output up in Feb for 3rd consecutive month (1%) & up a whooping 3.8% on Feb last year.
Good looking production numbers. Industrial production up 0.9% February, manufacturing 1%. Annual increases 2.7% and 3.8% respectively.
So much for the wet February weather - #manufacturing #gbp
9.43am BST
Just in: Britain's industrial sector has recorded its strongest rise in industrial output since last summer, suggesting the UK recovery is gathering pace.
Manufacturing output surged by 1.0% month-on-month in February, the biggest rise since September 2013. And the third monthly rise in a row.
cracker of a UK manufacturing fig. up 1% m/m & 3.8 y/y...
9.28am BST
Greece's cleaning workers, laid off as part of government cutbacks, have become one of the emblems of public opposition to its austerity programme. Last November they famously forcing Troika officials to flee through a fire escape.
They're back in action this morning, gathering outside the finance ministry to prepare for a meeting with finance minister Yannis Stournaras.
The laid off cleaners waving black flags at FinMin ahead of meeting with Stournaras at 12:30 pic.twitter.com/kUQvd0ROwS @dromografos #rbnews
Dock workers on 24h #strike today across #Greece to protest against planned privatizations. Demo at 16:00 in Athens #rbnews
Journalists & technical staff on 24h strike across media outlets. ESIEA union to stage a protest at 12:00 in Athens #rbnews #greece
9.13am BST
Some UK technology and high-growth stocks are coming under fresh pressure this morning, as fears of a tech stock rout linger.
Internet fashion retailer ASOS has dropped another 5%, and Ocado are down 3.3%. Semiconductor maker CSR has dropped 2.5%, but its larger rival ARM is the biggest riser on the FTSE 100, up 1.8%
European equities pare early session gains to trade lower Tuesday, pressured by fresh geopolitical drama together with declines on Wall Street overnight where tech stocks continued their descent amid worries about inflated valuations Amazon, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn all registered fat losses.
The surprise is that its taken investors so long to catch onto the fact that a lot of high growth stocks are trading on stupidly high valuations as companies like Twitter, Facebook, Pandora and Zynga continue to get pummelled.
8.50am BST
In the financial markets, shares in UK retailer Sports Direct have tumbled 6% in early trading following the news yesterday afternoon that founder Mike Ashley had ditched £200m of shares.
The latest share sale by Mike Ashley will certainly improve liquidity in Sports Direct, given the limited free float, but it will be interesting to see what sort of institutional appetite there is for the stock in the 850p-870p range, after the recent spike in the share price over 900p and the shenanigans over Mad Mikes dealings in House of Fraser
8.31am BST
What a difference a year makes. Back in April 2013, the International Monetary Fund grabbed the headlines by warning that the UK was 'playing with fire', urging chancellor George Osborne to change his fiscal plans.
Osborne was stung by the criticism from IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard. But ever since, the UK economy has been on an upward path. Britain's independent Office for Budget Responsibility raised its growth forecasts last month; economists say the IMF has every reason to do the same later today.
8.18am BST
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the financial markets, the world economy, the eurozone and business.
A big day for economic data lies ahead, as International Monetary Fund gathers with economists and journalists in Washington DC to announces its new World Economic Outlook.
The quarterly poll of 8,000 firms by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) reports that service exports are at an all-time high and many key manufacturing balances are also at record levels, showing that growth is strengthening in the short term.
However the survey also warned the recovery must become more balanced in the months ahead as it is still too reliant on consumer spending.
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