Portugal: Contraction of industrial sector eases in December
Portugal’s industrial output fell for the eighth consecutive month in December, although the rate of contraction eased markedly. The industrial sector contracted 0.3% over the same month of the previous year in December, following a 3.1% year-on-year drop in November. Behind the improved print was an acceleration in the mining and quarrying sector and a reduced rate of decline in manufacturing output. An upturn in both countered the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning sector’s swing to contraction in December, from expansion in November.
In seasonally-adjusted, month-on-month terms, industrial production rebounded in December, growing 1.1% over the previous month, contrasting a revised 2.9% month-on-month in November (previously reported: +2.4% month-on-month). Annual average growth in industrial output remained flat in December, matching November’s reading.