Portugal: Contraction of industrial sector eases in April

The industrial sector showed improvements at the start of the second quarter, with the rate of decline easing notably in April. Industrial production fell 1.6% over the same month of the previous year, following a revised 7.1% drop in March (previously reported: -7.6% year-on-year), which had been the worst print in close to seven years. A rebound in manufacturing output, coupled with a softer drop in the supply of electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning, drove the upturn. This more than offset a swing to contraction in mining and quarrying.

In seasonally-adjusted, month-on-month terms, industrial production rose 2.9% in April, rebounding from a revised 0.8% fall in March (previously reported: -1.3% month-on-month). Lastly, the annual average variation in industrial output dropped to minus 2.0% in April from minus 1.4% in March.

Portugal Industrial Production Forecast

FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panelists expect industrial production to decline -1.3% in 2019, which is down 0.7 percentage points from last month’s estimate. They see the industrial sector returning to growth in 2020, with output expanding 1.2% in the year.