Romania’s industrial output contracts by 1.7% y/y in Q2

Romania’s industrial production index decreased by 6.6% year-on-year in June, according to a release of the National Statistics Institute (INS) on August 14.

The seasonally and workday adjusted index edged down by 1% month-on-month in June, after a 2.1% month-on-month decline in May -- resulting in the weakest performance since October 2017.

The industrial output in January-June decreased by 0.6% year-on-year. The performance worsened from a modest 0.6% year-on-year growth in the first quarter of the year (Q1) to a 1.7% year-on-year contraction in Q2.

The developments in the core manufacturing industries were similar, but slightly weaker than the average that was somehow pushed up by the sector of utilities that performed better. Thus, the output in manufacturing industries contracted by 2.2% year-on-year in Q2, dragged down by the 7.7% annual contraction posted in June. The production of transport means contracted by 10% year-on-year in June, pushing the Q2 performance down to a negative 1.7% year-on-year growth after the impressive 8.5% year-on-year rise in Q1.

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