According to the statistics released by France's National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE), the country's manufacturing production in December 2012 was almost stable with just a 0.1 percent increase compared to November, after a month-on-month decrease of 0.1 percent recorded in November.
In the fourth quarter of the year, output went down by 2.5 percent in the French manufacturing sector, while a 1.8 percent decline was seen in French industry as a whole, both compared to the third quarter of the year.
In the fourth quarter of 2012, France's production in manufacture of basic metals and fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment, fell by 4.5 percent, while the production of the motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers industry decreased by 10.1 percent, both compared to the previous quarter. In the fourth quarter, the output of the construction industry in France fell 1.2 percent quarter on quarter.
Meanwhile, in December output rose by 1.5 percent in the manufacture of basic metals and fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment, while the production of the motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers industry rose by 4.5 percent, both compared to the previous month.