Slovenia: Industrial activity falls at sharpest rate in one year in February
Industrial output declined 1.2% in year-on-year terms in February, which contrasted January’s 9.2% increase. The figure marked the steepest contraction since February 2021. The notable deterioration largely reflected easing manufacturing, mining and quarrying production.
On a monthly basis, factory output plunged 8.3% in seasonally-adjusted terms in February, which was significantly below January’s flat reading and marked the worst result since April 2020—when the Covid-19 pandemic first began raging through Europe. The huge drop was due to ongoing government intervention in the electricity market, with supply disrupted by the state’s decision to freeze a fee which is normally paid to electricity distributors. The government move was made in order to ease cost of living pressures on Slovenian households.
Meanwhile, the trend improved modestly, with the annual average growth of industrial production coming in at 10.7% in February, up from January’s 10.6% reading.