Belgium: Industrial output growth improves in March
Industrial output rose 1.7% year-on-year in calendar-adjusted terms in March, following February’s 1.4% increase. March’s pick up was largely due to a notable rebound in both mining and manufacturing production. In contrast, energy output lost steam.
On a seasonally-adjusted monthly basis, industrial production fell at a more pronounced rate of 4.0% in March (February: -3.3% mom), the worst result since April 2020. Meanwhile, the trend improved, with the annual average variation of industrial production coming in at minus 2.8%, up from February’s minus 3.2%.
Going forward, Q2’s readings should show notable annual growth amid a very favorable base effect, which will fade away in the second half of the year.