Brussels, 19/04/2004 (Agence Europe) - Seasonally adjusted industrial production increased by 0.1% in the eurozone in February 2004 compared with January 2004, according to estimates published on Monday by Eurostat, noting that production decreased by 0.3% in January 2004 I the eurozone,, after a rise of 0.1% in December 2003. Output in the EU15 remained unchanged in February 2004, after a decline of 0.2% in January and a rise of 0.3% in December 2003. In February 2004 compared with February 2003, industrial production increased by 0.6% in the eurozone and by 0.4% in the EU15.
In February 2004, as compared to January 2004, the energy sector increased by 1.7% in the euro-zone and by 1.2% in the EU15, and intermediate goods rose by 0.5% and 0.4% respectively. Non-durable consumer goods increased by 0.1% in the euro-zone, but fell by 0.2% in the EU15. Durable consumer goods decreased by 0.4% in the euro-zone and 0.1% in the EU15, and capital goods fell by 0.3% and 0.4% respectively. In February 2004, and among the Member States for which data are available, the highest increases were registered in Greece (+2.5%), Spain (+1.5%), Denmark (+1.2%) and Portugal (+1.1%). Production remained unchanged in Italy. The largest decreases were observed in Ireland (-1.7%), Sweden (-1.2%) and Germany (-1.0%).