Data published by INSEE showed that industrial production fell by 2.1% in May, offsetting the April increase (+0.6%, revised from +0.5%). This was the sharpest drop since October 2022. Economists had expected production to fall by 0.5%. Meanwhile, manufacturing output declined by 2.7% after rising by 0.5% in April.
INSEE said that production fell back in the “other manufacturing industries" (-3.5% after +0.9% in April) and in the manufacture of machinery and equipment goods (-4.6% after +2.8%). It declined again in the manufacture of food products and beverages (-0.6% after -0.7%) and in the manufacture of transport equipment (-0.7% after -2.4%). On the contrary, it increased again in mining and quarrying, energy, water supply (+1.1% after +1.3%) and bounced back in the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum (+3.9% after -0.5%).
Over the past three months (through May), industrial production fell by 0.4% per annum, while manufacturing production decreased by 0.5% per annum. Output in the manufacture of transport equipment and in the manufacture of machinery and equipment goods went down sharply (‑6.0% and ‑3.5% respectively). On the contrary, it increased slightly in the “other manufacturing industries” (+0.8%) and very strongly in the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products (+16.5%).