Latvia Industrial Output February 2008

Latvian industrial output again showed substantial signs of contraction in year on year terms in February, even if on a month on month basis, and as compared to January 2007, industrial production rose by 1.3%, according to the seasonally adjusted data from the Central Statistical Bureau. In mining and quarrying there was an increase of 4.3%, and in manufacturing of 1.5%, while in electricity, gas and water supply decreased by 6.8%.




Compared to February 2007 however, industrial output in February - adjusted for changes in the number of working days - decreased by 4.7%. In manufacturing there was a decrease of 1%, in electricity, gas and water of 10%, while in mining and quarrying the volume of output increased by 31.4%. So while manufacturing is still contracting on annual basis, it is perhaps doing so at a slightly slower rate. As is becoming typical at the moment, we need to see just a bit more data before reaching any strong conclusions.