Data published by INSEE showed that industrial production fell by 1.1% in January, offsetting the December increase (+0.4%, revised from +1.1%). This was the sharpest drop since March 2023. Economists had expected production to fall by 0.3%. Meanwhile, manufacturing output declined by 1.6% after rising by 0.5% in December.
INSEE said that production fell back in the “other manufacturing industries" (-1.5% after +1.3% in December), as well as in the manufacture of transport equipment (-5.3% after +1.6%). It went down sharply in the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products (-10.5% after -1.8%) and declined slightly in the manufacture of machinery and equipment goods (-0.3% after -3.9%). On the contrary, output rebounded in mining and quarrying, energy, water supply (+1.6% after -0.3%) and increased again in the manufacture of food products and beverages (+1.5% after +1.4%).
Over the past three months (through January), industrial production increased by 0.8% per annum, while manufacturing production rose by 0.3% per annum. Output expanded in the manufacture of transport equipment (+7.2%) and in mining and quarrying, energy, water supply (+4.0%). On the contrary, it decreased in the manufacture of food products and beverages (‑2.0%), in the manufacture of machinery and equipment goods (‑1.5%) and in the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products (‑4.5%).