Madrid (awp/afp) – Spanish industrial production rose slightly in August, due in particular to a strong rebound in activity in the automotive sector, according to figures published Thursday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE). .
According to seasonally and calendar-adjusted data from the INE, production rose 0.4% over one month, following falling 1% in July. Compared to August 2021, still affected by the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic on activity, industrial production is up by 5.5%.
According to the INE, production benefited in August from a good dynamic in the manufacture of engines, trailers and semi-trailers (+30.2%) and in the extraction of coal, anthracite and lignite (+ 19.8%%), where production had fallen sharply in July. On the other hand, activity fell in the pharmaceutical industry sector (-16.6%), in furniture manufacturing (-10.1%) and in energy production (-2.5%). .
This dynamic comes at a time when Spain is faced, like many countries, with tensions in supply chains and rising production costs linked to the surge in prices which has accelerated since the start of the war in Ukraine. This conflict prompted the Spanish government to significantly lower its growth forecast for 2023, to 2.1% instead of the 3.5% initially forecast. This objective remains optimistic in the eyes of the Bank of Spain, which for its part forecasts 1.4%.
Growth, according to the executive, should on the other hand remain solid this year (+4.4%), thanks to the good performance of activity observed during the first half of the year.
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