Norway: Industrial production falls in March for fifth consecutive month
Industrial production fell a seasonally-adjusted 1.4% in March compared to the previous month, less than the 1.8% fall in February, according to Statistics Norway. This latest decrease was primarily due to lower output in the extraction and related services sector, which is the largest industrial sector in Norway. In addition, the electricity, gas and steam, manufacturing, and mining and quarrying sectors all recorded less production in March.
Looking at industrial figures in the first quarter as a whole, production fell 4.9% compared to the previous quarter, which is a deterioration compared to the flat reading recorded in the fourth quarter of last year. All industrial sectors except mining and quarrying recorded lower output in the first quarter.
Zooming back in on March and looking at the change in industrial production in annual terms when adjusted for working days, output fell 6.5%, representing a more pronounced fall than February’s 5.7% decrease. The average annual change in industrial production swung to a decrease of 0.5% in March from growth of 0.1% in February.