Spain: Industrial production increases at fastest rate in nearly 18 years in December
In December, industrial production improved significantly from the previous month, rising a solid 6.1% in year-on-year terms. December’s figure followed the upwardly revised 4.6% annual expansion recorded in November (previously reported: +4.2% year-on-year) and marked the fastest pace of growth in nearly 18 years. Meanwhile, annual average growth in industrial production rose from 2.5% in November to 2.8% in December, the joint-highest reading since June 2016.
December’s result was driven by healthy growth across all sub-components. Production of equipment goods improved markedly, increasing 9.3% in the month from the 6.6% expansion recorded in November, while energy output growth more than doubled to 9.7% in December from 4.5% in November. Moreover, production of durable consumer goods rebounded from a 0.5% contraction in November to a robust 4.4% expansion in December, while non-durable consumer goods output also posted important gains from the previous month. Growth in intermediate goods production remained strong, albeit moderating slightly from November.
On a month-on-month basis, adjusted for seasonal and calendar effects, industrial production growth decelerated to 0.9% in December from 1.1% in November.