Eurozone Industrial Production Unexpectedly Falls On Energy Output

Eurozone industrial production dropped for a second straight month in March, defying expectations for a modest gain, as mild weather dampened energy output.

Industrial output slid unexpectedly by 0.1 percent month-on-month in March, the same pace of decline as seen in February, figures from Eurostat showed Friday.

Production was forecast to climb 0.3 percent.

All components of industrial production expanded in March, except energy output. Non-durable consumer goods and durable goods output grew 2.1 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively.

Similarly, production of intermediate goods rose 0.3 percent and capital goods by 0.2 percent. Meanwhile, energy output declined 3.2 percent in March.

On a yearly basis, growth in industrial production improved to 1.9 percent in March from 1.4 percent in February. This was the fastest growth in three months, but slower than the expected 2.3 percent.

Looking ahead, surveys suggest that annual industrial production growth will accelerate in the coming months, to as high as 5 percent, Stephen Brown, an economist at Capital Economics, said.

The economist expects industry's weakness in the first quarter to be reversed in the second quarter. Indeed, a strong performance from the sector is forecast to contribute to a pick-up in GDP growth to 2.0 percent in 2017 from last year's 1.7 percent, Brown added.

While industrial output was disappointing in the first quarter, growth was still 0.5 percent sequentially, indicating that growth will likely remain robust in the current quarter, Bert Colijn at ING DiBa, said.

In its Spring Forecast, the European Union executive raised the Eurozone growth forecast for this year to 1.7 percent from 1.6 percent. The prediction for 2018 was retained at 1.8 percent.

In the EU 28, industrial production remained flat month-on-month for the second consecutive month in March.

Among member states, the largest monthly decreases in industrial production were registered in Lithuania, Greece and the Netherlands. Meanwhile, the biggest increase was reported by Romania.