Euroarea’s construction output falls sequentially in September as building construction declines

In the euro area, seasonally adjusted production in construction sector dropped 0.9 percent sequentially in September 2016, according to the first estimates released by the Eurostat. In August of this year, production in construction had grown 0.1 percent in the currency block. On a year-on-year basis, the production in construction grew 1.8 percent.

On a sequential basis, the 0.9 percent decline in euro area’s construction output was mainly driven by declines in building construction, which dropped 1.1 percent. Meanwhile, civil engineering grew 0.4 percent sequentially in September. The largest declines in construction output were seen in Italy, Slovakia and Portugal, which recorded falls of 3.9 percent, 3.1 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively. The highest increase in construction output was seen in Slovenia, which recorded a growth of 4 percent.

On a year-on-year basis, the 1.8 percent growth in the euro area’s construction output was mainly because of civil engineering and building construction, which grew 3.7 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively, in September. Amongst the member states, the highest increases in the construction output was seen in the Netherlands and Spain, which recorded a rise of 7.8 percent and 3.9 percent, respectively. On the other hand, the largest decrease was witnessed in Slovakia, which registered a decline of 17.9 percent.

The EUR/USD pair was trading at 1.0728 at around 10:36 GMT. Meanwhile, at 10:00 GMT, the Hourly Euro Index stood neutral at -43.7077, whereas the Hourly USD Strength Index stood highly bullish at 130.617. For more details on FxWirePro's Currency Strength Index, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex