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"&lt;p&gt;Manufacturing expanded at its fastest pace in four years in April, defying expectations of further contraction.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Factory output increased by 2.3%, the biggest monthly surge since July 2012 and well ahead of forecasts of a small decline, prompting speculation that GDP will accelerate in the three months to June.&lt;br /&gt;\u00A0&lt;br /&gt;The biggest contribution came from pharmaceuticals production, which rose by 8.6% month on month \u2013 a rate of growth that is unlikely to be repeated. Economists said a rise in electricity and gas use may have been driven by unusually cool weather in April.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The surprisingly strong figures from the Office for National Statistics took markets by surprise and triggered a brief bounce in the pound, which climbed from $1.4530 to $1.4580 immediately after the release before giving up some of the gains.&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<https://www.santandercb.co.uk/knowledge-hub/medicine-eases-manufacturing-headache>