EU chems output falls 1.6% in March year-on-year

19 May 2005 12:17  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (CNI)--Chemicals output in the 25-member European Union (EU) fell 1.6% in March compared with the same period last year, reversing an upward production trend in the previous eight weeks, according to figures released Thursday by statistics agency Eurostat. Output in March was also down 1.6% against February this year.

 

Production of chemicals in the 12 eurozone countries was up just 0.1% compared with the March last year and fell 0.9% against the previous month.

 

The March statistics were in stark contrast with January this year when chemicals output in the EU increased at its highest year-on-year rate for more than a year. Production volumes in the EU soared by 3.5% and in the eurozone by 5%.

 

This was the highest yearly increase recorded since December 2003, when output from the chemicals sector rose 7.0% in the EU and 7.6% in the eurozone.

 

The decline in chemicals production in March this year was reflected in overall EU industrial output which fell 0.5% year-on-year and 0.3% month-on-month. In the eurozone, total output fell by 0.1% in March compared with the same month last year and by 0.2% from February.

 

 

European industrial output

 

	Mar 2005 vs Mar 2004 (%)	Mar 2005 vs Feb 2005 (%)
EU chemicals	-1.6	-1.6
Eurozone chemicals	+0.1	-0.9
EU industry	-0.5	-0.3
Eurozone industry	-0.1	-0.2

Member states of the EU are Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands and the UK.

The 12 countries in the eurozone are Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain and The Netherlands.

By: Hilde Ovrebekk
+44 20 8652 3214

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