Latvia: Growth in industrial production comes to a near halt in March
Industrial production rose a meager 0.6% in March from the same month last year, easing considerably from February’s 8.7% year-on-year increase and marking the lowest print in over a year and a half. Meanwhile, annual average growth in industrial production came in at 7.5% in March, down from 8.3% in February.
Weaker growth in industrial production was caused by contractions in the mining and quarrying, and electricity and gas supply sub-sectors, as well as a sharp slowdown in the manufacturing sub-sector. Particularly notable double-digit decreases were registered in the manufacturing of repair and installation of machinery and equipment; chemicals and chemical products; and beverages.
In seasonally-adjusted terms, industrial production fell 3.6% month-on-month in March, contrasting February’s 3.9% expansion and marking the worst result since January 2009.