Disappointing data on industrial production in March.
Industrial production in Croatia remained unchanged in March compared to the same month last year. The result was weaker than expected and ended the 25 consecutive months of growth, reports HRT on April 28, 2017.
The Central Bureau of Statistics announced on Friday that industrial production, according to calendar-adjusted data, remained at the same level as in March last year. Four macroeconomists who participated in the HINA survey estimated on average that industrial output would rose by 3.1 percent year-on-year. Their growth estimates ranged from 2.8 to 3.7 percent.
“Industrial production in March recorded a stagnation year-on-year, confirming the slowdown in dynamics during the first quarter of this year,” analysts of Raiffeisenbank Austria (RBA) said in their review of the report.
In March, production of intermediate products jumped by 7.3 percent year-on-year, while capital goods production rose by 4.2 percent. On the other hand, energy production fell sharply by 8 percent, while the production of durable consumer goods declined by 7.7 percent and production of non-durable goods by 3.0 percent year-on-year.
While stagnating at the annual level, industrial production at the monthly level increased by 1.5 percent.
In the first three months of this year, industrial production increased by 2.0 percent over the same period last year. “Despite the slowdown in the volume of industrial production growth, we expect the annual growth to continue, which will be supported by domestic and foreign demand,” RBA analysts said.
If the industrial production were to grow this year as well, this would be the fourth consecutive year of growth. In 2016, industrial production increased by 5.0 percent, which was much faster than in the previous years.
