Brussels, 13/02/2008 (Agence Europe) - In December 2007, industrial production fell by 0.2% not only in the eurozone but also in the EU27 compared to November 2007, when it had fallen by 0.4% and 0.3% respectively. Compared to December 2006, industrial production increased 1.3% in the eurozone and by 1.2% in the EU27, Eurostat states in a press release published on Wednesday 13 February.
At a monthly rate, the energy sector increased by 0.5% in the eurozone and by 0.2% in the EU27 but capital goods fell by 1.0% and 0.8% respectively. Taking each country separately, industrial production increased in seven member states, mainly Luxembourg (+4.4%), and fell in fourteen others, mainly Estonia (-7.3%), Slovakia (-3.6%) and Denmark (-3.4%).
At an annual rate, the energy sector increased 4.4% in the eurozone and 3.7% in the EU27 and investment goods were up 2.3% and 2.7% respectively. Intermediary goods increased by 0.2% in both zones. Soft or non-durable consumer goods remained stable in the eurozone but fell by 0.9% in the EU27, while durable consumer goods fell 4.2% and 1.5% respectively. Industrial production was up in twelve member states and down in nine. The largest increases were notched up in the Netherlands (+10.3%), Lithuania (+7.2%) and Slovakia (+6.3%), while the strongest falls were noted in Latvia (-6.7%), Italy (-6.5%) and Spain (-2.4%). (A.B.)