France: Industrial activity drops at softer pace in May
Latest reading: Industrial output dropped 0.5% in month-on-month seasonally adjusted terms in May, which was above April’s 1.4% decrease. Looking at the details of the release, May’s improvement was driven by a sharp rebound in energy production. In contrast, manufacturing plus mining and quarrying output posted weaker readings.
On an annual basis, factory output fell at a more moderate rate of 0.9% in May (April: -1.9% yoy). Accordingly, the trend improved, with the annual average variation of industrial production coming in at minus 0.6%, up from April’s minus 0.7%.