Eurozone industrial production rebounded slightly in February after suffering a sharp drop in the previous month, according to figures released by Eurostat on Monday.
Seasonally adjusted industrial production rose 0.8% month-on-month, following a 3.0% decline in January, and was revised upward from the initial -3.2%. This reading was in line with economists' predictions.
Rory Fennessy, senior eurozone economist at Oxford Economics, said February's recovery could signal “the beginning of an industrial turnaround”.
“A shift in the inventory cycle, increased demand for consumer goods, and lower wholesale energy prices will support a gradual and sustained recovery in industrial production growth through 2024. “It will have a more pronounced positive impact in 2025 on goods' production,” he said.
Production increases in intermediate goods (+0.5%), capital goods (+1.2%) and consumer durables (+1.4%) outweighed declines in energy (-3.0%) and non-durable consumer goods (-0.9%). Ta. Eurostat revealed.
Regarding the performance of member states, the highest growth rates were recorded in Ireland (+3.8%), Hungary (+3.5%) and Slovenia (+3.3%), while the biggest decline was in Croatia (-4.6%) . Lithuania (-3.0%) and Belgium (-2.7%).
Compared to February last year, industrial production across the euro area fell by 6.4% in January, after falling by 6.6% year-on-year.
