Industrial output in EU shows decrease in January

Industrial output in EU shows decrease in January

As per the data released by EU statistics institution Eurostat, industrial output in 15 member states of European Union (EU) decreased by 0.2% in January 2004, after a rise of 0.2% in December 2003 and a fall of 0.2% in November. In January 2004, industrial output also dropped by 0.4% in the Euro zone compared to December 2003. Capital goods increased by 1.5% in the Euro zone and by 2.3% in EU in January when compared with the same period of last year and intermediate goods gained 1.3% and 1.1% respectively. Non-durable consumer goods remained unchanged in the Euro zone, but increased by 0.3% in EU. Durable consumer goods dropped by 0.2% in the Euro zone and by 0.4% in EU while energy sector fell by 0.2% and by 0.7% respectively. In January 2004, the largest increases were recorded in Ireland with 8.9%, Sweden with 5.8%, Germany with 1.6% and Belgium with 1.2% compared to January 2003. Countries which showed decrease in industrial output are; Portugal with 3.5%, Denmark with 1.5%, Spain and Finland with 1.1% for each.