Both euro area and Union industrial production fell in August

Industrial production in the euro area and the European Union (EU) as a whole fell in August. Seasonally adjusted industrial production fell by 1.6% month-on-month in the euro area in August and by 1.5% in the EU, according to Eurostat. In July, industrial production increased by 1.4% and 1.2%, respectively. Year-on-year, industrial production grew by 5.1% in the euro area and by 5.3% in the EU. The production of capital goods in the euro area fell by 3.9% month-on-month in August and in the EU by 4%, the production of durable goods by 3.4% and 2.9%, respectively, the production of intermediate goods by 1.5%, 1% and 4% respectively. The production of consumer durables in the euro area fell by 0.8% and in the EU rose by 0.3%. Energy production increased by 0.5% in the euro area and stagnated in the EU. Among the EU Member States for which Eurostat had data, Malta (-6.3%), Germany and Estonia (-4.1% each) and Slovakia (-3.8%) saw the sharpest month-on-month declines in industrial production in August.On the contrary, industrial production expanded the most in Denmark (+ 3.5%), Lithuania (+ 2.9%) and Luxembourg (+ 2.1%). The production of non-durable goods in the euro area increased by 11.6% year on year in August and in the EU by 10.9%, the production of intermediate goods by 6.6% and 7.1%, respectively, and capital goods by 2.8%, 2% and 4% respectively. Energy production fell by 0.6% in the euro area and rose by 1% in the EU, and the production of consumer durables fell by 1.9% and 0.8%, respectively. The sharpest year-on-year increase in industrial production was recorded in Belgium (+ 29.9%) in August, followed by Ireland (+ 22.1%) and Lithuania (+ 15.4%). Industrial production decreased year-on-year in Portugal (-7.2%), Malta (-4.2%) and the Czech Republic (-1.4%).