Industrial output in EU maintains rise with 0.3% in July

Industrial output in EU maintains rise with 0.3% in July

According to latest data released by Eurostat, industrial output in EU has increased by 0.3% in July following a rise of 0.4% recorded in June. However, a 0.4% decline is seen in output when compared to July 2002. Industrial output in the Eurozone grew up by 0.6% in July compared to previous month, but dropped 0.3% over last year same month. For the month of July largest increases in output were seen in Belgium with 3.8%, Finland with 3.0%, Germany and Portugal with 2.2%. When compared to July 2002, figures are 1.5%, 2.0%, 0.4% increase and 1.0% decrease, respectively. Countries which showed a drop in industrial output are; Ireland 3.9% and France 1.3% over June 2003. On the other hand, Ireland recorded the largest increase with 10.7% compared to July 2002, followed by Finland 2.0%, Denmark and Greece 1.9%, while France recorded a 1.3% decrease. On top of that, some reports from the industry state that the German economy may recover in the near future, however steel industry, where industrial production increased probably due to more working days in July, is not expected to rebound before the last quarter according to German Steel Federation.