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Eurozone industrial production falls in Feb, strong quarterly reading expected

Xinhua, April 13, 2016 Adjust font size:

The industrial production in the 19-country Eurozone fell in February in month-on-month term, official data showed on Wednesday, however economists foresee that the reading of the first quarter this year could remain fairly strong.

Seasonally adjusted industrial production fell by 0.8 percent in the single currency bloc and by 0.7 percent in the wider 28-country European Union (EU) compared with the previous month, according to estimates from Eurostat, the bloc's statistical agency.

The declines were in line with market expectations given the sound performance in January when industrial production rose by 1.9 percent in the euro area and by 1.5 percent in the EU.

If the output flatlined in March, the industrial production would have risen by 0.9 percent in the first quarter, much stronger than the fourth quarter of last year which hit 0.4 percent increase, economists foresee.

"Despite February's fall in industrial production, the sector looks likely to have had a fairly strong first quarter," said Jack Allen, a European economist of Capital Economics.

However, economists cautioned that the bloc's industrial sector was still too weak to inject enough vigor into its sluggish economy and drive sustainable recovery.

"Despite the strength of industrial output in the first two months of the year, we doubt that the sector will provide a major boost to GDP(gross domestic product) in 2016 as a whole," the economist added. Endit