(Finance) – French industrial production slows down in February. The overall output of the second largest European economy showed a decrease of 0.9% on a monthly basis after the + 1.8% of the previous month.
The figure, communicated byNational Statistical Office (INSEE)is even worse than the expectations of analysts who had estimated a 0.2% increase.
Manufacturing production also fallswith the index reporting a decrease of 0.5% on a monthly basis after the previous + 2.2%.
Over the year, the production of the whole industry recorded a rise of 0.4%. Positive variation (+ 0.9%) also for the manufacturing sector.
Compared to February 2020 (the month before the start of the pandemic), industrial production is still down: -4.5% manufacturing, -4.6% for the whole industry.