Industrial production down 2.5% in March
Industrial production for March 2012 was 2.5% down on the previous month, latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) indicate.
On an annual basis production for March 2012 decreased by 5.6% when compared with March 2011, the CSO said.
Seasonally adjusted, the volume of industrial production for manufacturing industries for the first
quarter of 2012 was 5.2% lower than the preceding quarter.
The “Modern” Sector, comprising a number of high-technology and chemical sectors, showed a monthly decrease in production for March 2012 of 4.9% while there was an increase of 2.6% in the “Traditional” Sector.
Analysts said the recovery in production in late 2010 and early 2011 has been all but wiped out, with the index is now at its lowest level since December 2009.
"Weak euro area growth over the past two quarters is weighing on industrial production," said David McNamara of Davy Research.
•We expect this slowdown in production to continue in 2012 as euro area growth contracts."
