Manufacturing production bounces back timidly in January

Latest reading: Manufacturing output rose 0.2% in month-on-month seasonally adjusted terms in January, which contrasted December's 2.2% decrease. Looking at the details of the release, the upturn largely reflected a rebound in basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products and machinery production. Moreover, wood and wood products, paper, publishing and printing output grew at a quicker clip in January. On an annual basis, manufacturing production fell at a quicker rate of 3.3% in January (December: -1.2% yoy), the worst result since June 2024. Accordingly, the trend pointed down, with the annual average variation of manufacturing production coming in at minus 0.9%, down from December's minus 0.5%.

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