Brussels, 19/04/2007 (Agence Europe) - In the construction sector, seasonally adjusted production grew by 0.9% in the eurozone and by 0.6% in the EU27 in February 2007, compared with the previous month. In January, production increased by 0.3% in the eurozone and by 0.6% in the EU27. Compared with February 2006, output in February 2007 gained 10.4% in the eurozone and 9.2% in the EU27, according to Eurostat.
Compared with January, construction output in February rose in nine member states and fell in four. The highest increases were recorded in Spain (3.8%), the Czech Republic (3.0%) and Slovakia (2.8%). The largest decreases were registered in Portugal (3.0%), Belgium (2.1%) and the United Kingdom (1.6%). Building construction rose by 0.8% in the eurozone and by 0.6% in the EU27, while civil engineering grew by 1.4% and by 0.5% respectively.
By comparison with February 2006, construction output rose in 12 member states, including Poland (57.1%), the Czech Republic (32.5%), Slovenia (31.0%) and Germany (30.7%), and fell only in Portugal (down by 6.6%). Building construction rose by 8.7% in the euro area and by 8.1% in the EU27. Over the same period, civil engineering grew by 15.6% in the euro area and by 10.2% in the EU27. (ab)