Spanish December Industrial Output Decline Slows
Spain’s industrial production fell in December by the least in more than year as government stimulus measures bolstered car sales and the global recovery underpinned exports.
Output at factories, refineries and mines declined 1.4 percent from a year earlier, adjusted for the number of working days, after slipping a revised 5.6 percent the previous month, the Madrid-based National Statistics Institute said today in an e-mailed statement. Economists had forecast a decline of 2.3 percent, according to Bloomberg News survey.
Facing the highest unemployment rate in the euro region, Spain created one of Europe’s largest stimulus programs last year, including measures to encourage car purchases and fund public-works projects. As the global economy emerges from a recession, Madrid-based Acerinox SA, the world’s biggest stainless-steelmaker, said Jan. 19 it will increase production from this month.
The government spent 8 billion euros ($10.9 billion) to put unemployed builders back to work widening sidewalks, creating parks and constructing cycle tracks in Spanish cities in a program that created more than 400,000 jobs. In a separate stimulus package, the central government provided as much as 500 euros in incentives for car purchases that regional administrations can match, with automakers asked to offer a 1,000-euro discount on top.
Auto Production
Car production rose 50 percent from a year earlier, the statistics agency said today, while overall manufacturing declined 0.4 percent. Production of durable goods fell 6.2 percent from a year earlier, while output of non-durable goods gained 2 percent in December from a year earlier.
Spain, which has been in a recession since the second quarter of 2008, is lagging behind the recovery in Europe. The International Monetary Fund forecasts Spain will contract 0.6 percent this year, while the U.S., the U.K., and the euro area return to growth.
The statistics agency revised November production from the decline of 5.7 percent originally reported.
Filed under: online by Wolf