Portugal: Industrial production growth remains unchanged in March
Industrial output grew 1.7% year-on-year in March, mirroring February’s pace of expansion, which was revised down from 2.5%. Looking at a breakdown of the data, the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply sector rebounded, expanding at a double-digit pace (March: +21.3% year-on-year; February: -4.6% yoy). Mining and quarrying output on the other hand, lost considerable steam, growing at a weaker rate of 4.0% yoy in March compared to 13.4% yoy in February. Moreover, the manufacturing sector, in annual terms, swung to a 2.2% contraction from a 2.7% expansion. Data on the water, sanitation and management of waste and depollution sector has not yet been released.
In seasonally-adjusted, month-on-month terms, industrial production rebounded in March, growing 3.7% and contrasting a revised 2.4% contraction in February (previously reported: -2.3% month-on-month). Annual average growth in industrial production edged down to 3.5% in March from 3.9% in February.