Data published by INSEE showed that industrial production increased by 0.2% in November, almost offsetting the October drop (-0.3%, revised from -0.1%) and ending a two-month decline. Economists had expected production to remain unchanged. Meanwhile, manufacturing output rose by 0.2% after declining by 0.1% in October.
INSEE said that output bounced back sharply in the manufacture of transport equipment (+3.8% after ‑2.6%). It was virtually stable in mining and quarrying, energy, water supply (+0.1% after ‑1.0%) and in the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products (+0.1% after +4.7%). It was stable in the “other manufacturing industries” (after ‑0.2% in October). On the contrary, output decreased again in the manufacture of food products and beverages (‑0.7 % after ‑0.4 %) and fell back in the manufacture of machinery and equipment goods (‑0.7 % after +1.5%).
Over the past three months (through November), industrial production fell by 0.9% per year, while manufacturing production decreased by 1.4% per year. Output fell in the manufacture of transport equipment (‑5.3%), the manufacture of machinery and equipment goods (‑3.1%), the “other manufacturing industries” (‑0.8%) and the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products (‑0.9%). On the contrary, it increased in mining and quarrying, energy, water supply (+1.7 %), and the manufacture of food products and beverages (+1.0%).