The rate of furniture production during February 2024 registered a slight monthly increase for a third straight month whilethe value in domestic goods rose on the previous month and against last year.

According to the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data, the rate of furniture production rose 1.7% compared to January, while falling 7.3% on February last year. The monthly uptick adds to the previous growth of 0.6% in December.

On the month, total production output is estimated to have grown by 1.1% in February 2024, following a fall of 0.3% in January 2024.

Meanwhile, the value of the manufacture of furniture for February resulted at £865.6m, up 11.1% from £778.9m in January. Against the same period last year, the value fell 1.3% from £877.1m.

As for the value of furniture manufacturer exports, this increased 17.9% to £52m for the month from £44.1m. Against last year, exports value fell 26% from £70.3m. The value of domestic furniture manufacture increased 10.7% to £813.6m from £734.8m in the month, while also up 0.8% from £806.8m last year.

Monthly GDP is estimated to have grown by 0.1% in February 2024, following growth of 0.3% in January 2024.

Commenting on the GDP figures for February, ONS Director of Economic Statistics Liz McKeown said: “The economy grew slightly in February with widespread growth across manufacturing, particularly in the car sector. Services also grew a little with public transport and haulage, and telecommunications having strong months.

“Partially offsetting this there were notable falls across construction as the wet weather hampered many building projects. Looking across the last three months as a whole, the economy grew for the first time since last summer.”