Spain: Industrial production growth picks up in March
Industrial production gained steam in March and grew 5.1% year-on-year in seasonally-and calendar-adjusted terms, a notable improvement from February’s revised 3.0% rise (previously reported: +3.1% year-on-year). Consequently, annual average industrial output growth edged up from 2.7% in February to 3.1% in March.
March’s result was largely driven by a pick-up in energy, equipment and consumer goods output. Energy production expanded a solid 9.7% year-on-year, well above the 5.3% growth rate recorded in the previous month. Similarly, consumer and equipment goods output posted stronger gains compared to February, while intermediate goods production slowed slightly.
On a month-on-month basis, adjusted for seasonal and calendar effects, factory output growth moderated to 1.2% in March from a revised 1.4% (previously reported: +1.5% month-on-month) in February.