Output data underline economic fragility Britain's economic recovery looks fragile after the release of official data showing the manufacturing sector barely grew between August and September. The figures, which come after a slew of unofficial surveys that also point to tough business conditions, were worse than economists expected and took the shine off Britain's surprisingly strong return to economic growth in the third quarter of the year. Chris Williamson, an economist at Markit, a data company, said the data "highlight how the underlying trend in the economy remains far from encouraging." Manufacturing output rose 0.1 per cent between August and September, the Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday - less than the 0.3 per cent economists predicted. Overall industrial production dropped 1.7 per cent, reflecting a sudden 20.9 per cent plunge in oil and gas extraction, which the ONS said resulted from later than usual maintenance on rigs in the North Sea. Taking a smoother measure, industrial production rose 0.9 per cent between the second and the third quarters of the year, slightly less than the 1.1 per cent the ONS pencilled in when it estimated the overall economy grew 1 per cent over that period. However, the ONS said this would have a "minimal" effect on its gross domestic product estimate. The data come as the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee prepares to vote on Thursday over whether to call an end to quantitative easing, its bond buying programme aimed at stimulating growth. "We just about stick to the view that the BoE will hold fire on more QE for now, but it may be a desperately tight vote and we do expect to see more stimulus either in December (if the data shows no sign of improvement over the next few weeks) or in the first quarter of 2013," said Howard Archer, an economist at IHS Global Insight. Between August and September, the output of seven manufacturing sub-sectors rose while six fell. The biggest increases came from pharmaceutical manufacturers and makers of transport equipment. Alan Clarke, an economist at Scotiabank, said the figures were "disappointing" but "not a bloodbath."