Manufacturing output fell by 0.4% between August and September and the official figures now seem to be reporting what private surveys, like the Purchasing Managers' Index, have reflected for some time: that the manufacturing sector is contracting sharply, rather than just standing still.
This comes on top of another steep fall between July and August.
If there is a further significant deterioration this month then we may be sliding into manufacturing recession and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reports that a majority of sectors in the industry have shown decreases in production in Q3 1998, compared with Q2.

Shining through the gloom, however, are some (puzzlingly) bright spots: the output of manufactured durable goods rose in Q3 by 4.8%, and the manufacture of cars rose 9.3% over the quarter.

After November's half-percent cut, there will be even greater attention paid to the Bank's Interest Rate decision on Thursday - will there be a further paring of rates? Or will the Monetary Policy Committee take a breather?

The MPC could be influenced by Tuesday's sales figures from the British Retail Consortium, which said last month that sales had fallen by 0.6% over the year to October - only the second time the BRC had reported a drop in sales since March 1995.