UK recovery gathering pace as world economy recovers, says OECD Signs of life in the UK were also evident in the ONS's industrial production data. Manufacturing activity rose by 0.9pc in March after falling 1.1pc in February, which was a major factor behind the UK's first double dip recession since 1975. The chemicals, transport equipment, computer and electronics industries were behind the recovery. The wider measure of industrial production was less encouraging. A drop in oil and gas production caused it to fall by 0.3pc. Economists pointed out, though, that the volatile oil and gas data can distort the real picture. Andrew Johnson, senior economist at the EEF, the manufacturers" organisation, said: "[The] figures paint a slightly improved picture for manufacturing and bring the official data closer to a range of business surveys. This suggests manufacturing is in a better position at the start of this year than it was at the end of 2011. His observation was echoed by Philip Shaw, UK economist at Investec. "It's encouraging to see that manufacturing almost recovered its February loses in March, although taken over the first quarter as a whole, the sector remains flat," he said. The OECD data also pointed to an improving global picture, with global OECD region having "regained momentum" as well as the world's leading and major emerging economies. The recovery is being driven by the US, Japan and China. The eurozone remains the global Achilles heel. In the euro area, the CLIs for France and Italy continue to point to sluggish economic activity below long term trend. The CLIs for Germany and most other euro area economies show slightly more positive signals," the OECD said.