Irish manufacturing output jumped by 8.4 per cent in July as high-tech and pharma firms benefitted from increased global demand.

The latest monthly production figures from the Central Statistic Office (CSO), a key gauge of the underlying health of the economy, indicated production was 18.5 per cent higher on annual basis.

However, seasonally adjusted volume of industrial production for manufacturing industries for the three months to July was 9 per cent lower than the previous three-month period.

The “modern” sector, comprising high-tech and pharma companies, showed a monthly increase in production of 3.4 per cent in July. There was also a monthly increase of 6.4 per cent in the “traditional” sector.