Industrial
production increased a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent month-on-month in February,
reversing the 0.6 percent decrease seen in January, which was revised down from
flat. Production was forecast to grow by 0.3 percent.
Driving the
overall growth capital goods production rose 2.4 percent sequentially. Production
of intermediate goods moved up 0.3 percent, while output of consumer goods
decreased by 2.5 percent.
Year-on-year,
industrial production decreased a working-day adjusted 1.8 percent in February,
slower than the revised 2.6 percent decrease seen in January. Economists had
forecast output to fall by 0.9 percent, following the previous month's
originally reported 1.3 percent decrease.