Industrial output growth improves in May

Latest reading: Industrial output rose 1.9% in month-on-month seasonally adjusted terms in May, which was above April's 1.3% increase. May's rise was largely due to faster growth in manufacturing output plus mining and quarrying. In contrast, electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply production lost momentum. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, industrial production rebounded, rising 2.6% in May (April: -2.1% mom s.a.), the best result since October 2024. Meanwhile, the trend improved slightly, with the annual average variation of industrial production coming in at minus 0.9% in May, up from April's minus 1.0% reading.

Panelist insight: EIU analysts commented: “Slower than usual growth in Germany and France (Portugal's second and third most popular export destinations) is set to damage important economic sectors such as the automobile industry, which accounts for 5.6% of GDP and represents 15% of tradeable goods. Portugal's exposure to US tariffs will come more via an indirect effect through its main EU trade partners, and we expect it to be mildly hit by the tariffs, not as badly as Germany or Ireland.”

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