SPAIN’S economic good times hit another bump in the road after preliminary data revealed an unexpected decline in the country’s industrial production for the month of April.
The report, from national statistics agency INE, indicates that output across all sectors, except capital goods, contracted during this period.
It marks a disappointing reversal from the 4.1% growth experienced in March, as economists had hoped for a 1.5% increase.
During April, industrial production decreased by a surprising 0.9% on last year.
On an unadjusted basis, industrial output fell by 4.0 percent, contrasting with the 5.4 percent recovery seen in the preceding month.
The contraction in industrial production was primarily driven by a significant 4.9 percent fall in the durable consumer goods division, closely followed by a 4.3 percent decrease in intermediate goods output.
Meanwhile, production of energy items slid by 1.5 percent.
However, there was a silver lining as the output of capital goods demonstrated resilience by advancing 3.2 percent.
Looking at the month-on-month figures, industrial output experienced a substantial decline of 1.8 percent in April, in stark contrast to the 1.3 percent increase observed in March.
This decline represents the largest drop in thirteen months, adding to the surprise and concern surrounding Spain’s industrial sector performance.
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