Euro Area: Industrial production rebounds in February
Industrial output rose 0.8% in month-on-month seasonally adjusted terms in February, which contrasted January’s 3.0% decrease. February’s reading was driven by rebounds in the production of capital and durable consumer goods.. On the flipside, intermediate goods output expanded at a softer clip, while production of energy and non-durable consumer goods contracted.
Looking at the largest economies, industrial output expanded in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain.
On an annual basis, factory output fell 6.4% in February (January: -6.6% yoy).
Commenting on the reading, ING’s Bert Colijn stated:
“The manufacturing sector continues to be the Achilles’ heel of the eurozone economy. Production has been contracting for a while now, and the small February increase in production makes no marked difference to the recent trend. Thanks to the sharp drop in production in January, it is likely that production for the full first quarter has declined again compared to the fourth quarter of last year.”