Luxembourg, 19/10/2001 (Agence Europe) - According to Eurostat, industrial production in the euro zone increased by 1.1% in August 2001 (compared to July), having fallen by 1.3% in July and risen by 0.8% in June. Production in the Union (EU15) increased by 1% in August, having fallen by 1.2% in July and increased by 0.7% in June. In August 2001 - compared to August 2000 - industrial production increased by 0.4% in the euro zone and remained unchanged in the EU15.
Having recorded a steep decline in all sectors in July 2001, production of durable consumer goods clearly recovered in August with a gain of 3.1% in the euro zone and 2.6% in the EU15. The capital goods index increased by 2.2% in both areas. Intermediate goods rose by 0.5% in the euro zone and by 0.7% in the EU15, whereas non-durable consumer goods advanced by 0.% and 0.5% respectively. Only the energy sector recorded a decrease: -0.3% in the euro zone and -0.5% in the EU15. Industrial production was up in all Member States, except for Denmark (-2.4%) and France (0%). The highest increases were observed in Ireland (5.8%), Luxembourg (4.9%), Spain (3.3%), Finland (3%), Portugal (2.3%) and Germany (2.1%).
In annual terms (August 2000/August 2001), capital goods increased by 2.4% in the euro zone and 1.7% in the EU15. Durable and non-durable consumer goods increased by 0.7% and 1.6% respectively in the euro zone and 1.0% and 1.8% in the EU15. The energy sector increased by 1.8% in the euro zone and 0.5% in the EU15, while intermediary goods fell by 2.0% and 2.7% respectively. The steepest increases were observed in Luxembourg (5.5%), Portugal (2.9%), Spain (2.8%) and France (2.1%); the United Kingdom (-2.3%), Finland (-1.9%), Italy and the Netherlands (-1.5% each) recorded the strongest falls.