Spain: Industrial output contracts at sharpest pace on record in April on Covid-19 hit
Industrial output collapsed 33.6% year-on-year in seasonally- and calendar-adjusted terms in April, after plummeting 13.7% in March. As a result, the annual average variation in industrial output fell from minus 0.8% in March to minus 3.8% in April.
April’s downturn marked the steepest drop on record as industrial activity virtually came to a standstill during the first half of the month amid the lockdown measures enacted to contain Covid-19’s spread. The crash reflected an across-the-board collapse in all sub-components of the index, with capital goods production tumbling the most.
On a monthly basis, factory output plunged 21.8% in seasonally-adjusted terms in April, following March’s 13.2% slump. The reading also marked the worst result on record.