Although somewhat slower, industrial production increased for the 10th consecutive month

Industrial production in Croatia increased by 2.7 percent year-on-year in November, marking the 10th consecutive month of growth, although at a slower pace than the previous month.

The Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS) announced on Tuesday that industrial production, according to seasonally adjusted data, fell by 0.8 percent compared to the previous month, while, according to calendar-adjusted data, it rose by 2.7 percent compared to November of last year. This is a slower growth than a month earlier, when production increased by 6.4 percent, which was its largest annual jump since May 2007. It is also a slower growth than expected. Four macroeconomists who participated in a Hina survey estimated that industrial production in November increased by an average of 3.5 percent compared to the same month last year. Their growth estimates ranged from 2.5 to 4.5 percent. However, the growth in November continued the industry’s rise for the 10th consecutive month year-on-year, which has not been recorded since 2007, two years before the six-year recession.

– The growth is largely supported by the recovery of foreign demand, the base period effect, and the decline in inventories in the previous period, analysts from Raiffeisenbank Austria noted in their commentary on the DZS report.

 In November, the production of intermediate goods jumped the most, by 8.1 percent year-on-year, followed by the production of capital goods with a growth of 7.9 percent. The production of non-durable goods for general consumption increased by 0.9 percent. On the other hand, the production of durable goods for general consumption fell the most, by 6.5 percent, while energy production in November was 4.5 percent lower than in the same month last year.

Overall, in the first 11 months of this year, industrial production was 2.7 percent higher compared to the same period last year. Given this, 2015 will be the second consecutive year of production growth. Last year, the industry strengthened by 1.3 percent compared to 2013, marking its first annual growth after five years of continuous decline.

– The continuation of annual growth rates of industrial production in the last quarter will certainly positively contribute to a stronger realization of gross added value, which has also been recorded in the previous three quarters, analysts from RBA concluded.