Eurostat says highest annual drop in industrial production recorded in Luxembourg, with largest rise in Malta in February
The EU’s industrial output slipped 1.3% in February, when the novel coronavirus appeared in the continent, compared to the same month last year, the bloc’s statistical office reported on Thursday.
Eurostat said the figure was also down 1.9% in eurozone during the same period.
The eurozone/euro area or EA19 represents member states that use the single currency euro while the EU27 includes all member countries of the bloc.
In the EU, among main industrial groups, the production of capital goods fell the most, down 3.1% year-on-year in February.
It was followed by energy (1.7%) and intermediate goods (0.2%), while production of non-durable consumer goods posted an increase of 0.5% and durable consumer goods rose by 1.5%.
Among member states, the highest annual decreases were seen in Luxembourg (-8.0%), Ireland (-6.8%) and Greece (-3.5%).
“The highest increases were observed in Malta (+10.5%), Poland (+3.6%) and Slovenia (+2.4%),” Eurostat said.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which infected over 2 million people globally and caused some 137,000 deaths, several sectors, including factories, has been facing problems related to measures, such as lockdowns.