Data published by Eurostat showed that in February the construction output fell by 0.4% per year, partially offsetting the January increase (+0.8%). Economists had expected an increase of 1.1% per annum. On a monthly basis, the volume of construction rose by 1.8%, accelerating sharply compared to January (+0.2%). Meanwhile, among the EU countries, the volume of construction increased by 1.8% m/m and fell by 0.6% per annum.
In the euro area, production in construction increased by 3.5% m/m for construction of buildings, by 4.1% m/m for civil engineering and by 1.7% m/m for specialized construction activities. In the EU, production in construction increased by 3.4% m/m for construction of buildings, by 3.6% m/m for civil engineering and by 1.3% m/m for specialized construction activities.
Compared with February 2023, in the euro area, production in construction decreased by 2.5% for construction of buildings and by 0.1% for specialized construction activities, but increased by 4.9% for civil engineering. In the EU, production in construction decreased by 2.8% for construction of buildings and by 0.5% for specialized construction activities. Meanwhile, an increase of 4.2% was recorded in the civil engineering sector.
Among Member States for which data are available, the largest annual decreases in production in construction were recorded in the Netherlands (-12.9%), Finland (-6.9%) and Austria (-5.9%). The highest increases were observed in Spain (+8.3%), Portugal (+4.4%) and Czechia (+3.7%).