France: Industrial output growth wanes in December
Industrial output expanded 1.1% in month-on-month seasonally-adjusted terms in December, which was a deterioration from November’s 2.0% increase. December’s figure was largely due to a deterioration in manufacturing production growth, and weaker mining and quarrying production. That said, electricity production rebounded; an increasing number of nuclear power plants are returning to the grid, following the corrosion checks in 2022.
On an annual basis, industrial output grew 1.4% in December, which was above November’s 0.7% expansion. Accordingly, the trend improved modestly, with the annual average variation of industrial production coming in at 0.1% in December, up from November’s 0.0%.
Commenting on the industrial outlook, Charlotte de Montpellier, senior economist at ING, outlined that:
“At the end of 2022, French manufacturing output was still slightly below its pre-pandemic level […] Thanks to supply chains easing, the production of transport equipment should continue to catch up and that should boost the whole of French manufacturing production. […] Nevertheless, there is little doubt that business energy bills will rise more in 2023 than in 2022 in France, despite the fall in spot prices on the markets. This is likely to hamper industrial production.”