Industrial output engines slowing down

The industrial output, one of the main indicators of the economy, rose for the ninth month in a row in July, though at a slower pace of 2.3% compared with the same time last year.

Industrial output growth in the first six months stood at 5.3% (gross series) and 4% (seasonally adjusted series).
Compared with June, however, the trend was hardly encouraging, as the industrial output went down both as gross series and as seasonally adjusted series, by 2.3% and 0.8%, National Statistics Institute data reveal.
“Industrial sector figures reveal that the industry is showing signs of fatigue and we expect its growth to slow down in the coming months, as a result of the constant deterioration of the expectations of the economic operators and of the slow rebound of our main foreign trade partners,” said Melania H`ncil`, chief economist of Volksbank.
That the industrial output is still on the rise in annual terms is largely because of foreign demand, as the main exporters now are the automotive and petrochemical industries.
Industry, however, does not have sufficient strength to pull the economy out of recession alone, while domestic consumption remains really weak.
July did not bring good news for those countries that resumed economic growth, either.