Eurozone Industrial Production Drops by 1% in February

Eurozone’s Industrial Production in Germany showed a lesser-than-expected decrease in February, the official data published by Eurostat showed on Wednesday, suggesting that the recovery in the manufacturing sector is far from gaining traction.

The industrial output in the bloc arrived at -1.0% MoM vs. a 1.1% drop expected and 0.8% last.

On an annualized basis, the industrial output fell by -1.6% in February versus a -0.9% drop expected and January’s +0.8%.

The weak production, on a monthly basis, in February included all sectors, and the capital goods sector recorded the largest drop of 1.9%, followed by the energy sector, down 1.2%, and consumer durable goods, which fell 1.1%.

The capital goods sector recorded the largest gains in January.

Production in February was the biggest decline in France, Malta and Greece. It also landed in Germany, the largest economy in Europe.

The European economy shrank by 0.7% in the last quarter of 2020 compared to the previous quarter, due to the decline in household consumption due to the Covid-19 closures.