Ireland only eurozone country to see rise in industrial output

Ireland was the only country in the eurozone to register a year-on-year increase in industrial production levels in April.

Earlier this month, the CSO reported a 7.6% decline in Irish production in April, compared to March. However, it also noted manufacturing output rising by over 10% in the three months to the end of April and rising by almost 6% in the month of April, when measured on a year-on-year basis.

Now, figures collated by the EU’s statistics office Eurostat show Ireland outperformed the rest of the region in April.

Eurozone industrial output fell the most on record in April as coronavirus lockdowns halted activity across the region, marking the low point of the pandemic-induced contraction.

Eurostat said industrial output in the 19 countries sharing the euro fell 17.1% month-on-month for a 28% year-on-year drop, the steepest declines since records began in 1991.

The eurozone’s biggest economy, Germany, saw a 30.2% fall in industrial output year-on-year. The second and third biggest, France and Italy, showed production shrinking even more - by 34.9% and 42.5% respectively. The fourth-biggest economy, Spain, had a 34.3% fall.

Despite an easing of lockdowns, lingering Brexit and trade war concerns threaten a return to pre-Covid industry levels, economists have warned.

-additional reporting Reuters