Eurozone, EU chemical manufacturing contracts in August

LONDON (ICIS)–Manufacturing of chemicals and chemical products in both the eurozone and the EU fell in August month on month, the European statistics agency Eurostat said on Tuesday.

In the eurozone, the output of chemicals and chemicals products decreased by 0.2% in August compared to July. The fall comes after a strong rise in July, when production of chemicals had risen 1.7% according to Eurostat.

The EU as a whole (comprising 27 countries as the latest incorporation, Croatia, does not show in the statistics yet) also registered a fall in manufacturing of chemicals and chemical products of 0.5% month on month, after having grown 1.6% during July.

While in August the German chemical manufacturing stood flat, France saw the industry contracting by 0.9% compared with July.

Italy and Spain, however, registered gains. The Italian production of chemicals and chemical products rose 2% in August compared with July, while Spain’s rose 0.4% during the same period.

Outside the eurozone, the UK registered in August a fall of 2.5% compared with July in its chemicals production.

Eurostat did not provide year-on-year data for the production of chemicals and chemical products.

Overall industrial production in both the eurozone and the EU also tumbled in August compared with July, with falls of 1.8% and 1.4% respectively.

Year on year, the statistics remain in the negative as industrial production fell 1.9% in the eurozone in August 2014 compared with August 2013 and 0.8% in the EU over the same period.