Irish industrial production surges ahead of EU

Seasonally-adjusted industrial production fell by 0.4 percent in the euro zone and by 0.2 percent in the European Union (EU) in June 2015 compared to previous months, according to estimates released on Wednesday from Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU.

The output slowdown in June was most pronounced in Germany, France and Italy, while the rate of decline slowed in Ireland and Greece. This was the second consecutive fall in production.

The agency upwardly revised its reading for May to a 0.2 percent decline from a fall of 0.4 percent previously penciled in. “With industry accounting for around 20% of gross value added, this could reduce growth by 0.3 percentage points relative to the first quarter when GDP rose by 0.4%”, Capital Economics analysts wrote in a note.

As compared to the same month of 2014, in June this year production of non-durable consumer goods increased by 2.5 percent in the euro area and by 1.5 percent in the EU-28, while production of intermediate goods increased by 0.2 percent both in the euro area and was up by 0.8 percent in the EU-28.

Despite its strong growth on last year’s figures, Ireland’s industrial production also dipped between May and June, down 2% in the period.

In the EU28, the increase of 1.7% is due to production of capital goods rising by 2.4%, durable consumer goods by 2.2%, energy by 1.7%, non-durable consumer goods by 1.5% and intermediate goods by 0.8%.