In a seasonally- and calendar-adjusted month-on-month comparison, industrial output rose 8.8pc in January. The 8.8pc increase was the steepest monthly rise registered in the past two years, and came after a monthly decline of 0.9pc in November and a sharp 5.9pc fall in December. Output rose on the month in both September and October last year which saw six months of increases and six months of declines in an adjusted monthly comparison. In a twelve-month comparison, unadjusted output rose now for the second month after uninterrupted decline between October 2008 and November 2009. Workday-adjusted output was up yr/yr for the first time in January 2010 after a steady fall started as early as July 2008. The improvements of the last two months came from a low base as the yr/yr drop in output widened from around 10pc in November 2008 to around 20pc yr/yr in December 2008. In January 2009 unadjusted output fell 22.4pc and adjusted output was down 20.6pc from a year earlier. KSH will publish a second reading of January output figures, including figures on exports and domestic sales on March 17.