French industrial production shrinks above expectations in September

France’s industrial production growth falls below projections in September, according to the French statistical office INSEE. The industrial output in the nation fell 1.1 percent sequentially in September after growing 2.3 percent in the prior month. Consensus expectations were for zero percent growth. This is the biggest drop since February, when output fell 1.2 percent.

Similarly, manufacturing output declined 1.1 percent sequentially in September after rising 2.4 percent in August. Consensus expectations were for a slight decline of 0.1 percent. Construction output also fell in September. It declined 0.9 percent sequentially, as compared with a rise of 0.6 percent recorded in August.

For the third quarter, industrial output in France stayed virtually stable, dropping 0.1 percent quarter-on-quarter. This is because of a sharp decline in mining and quarrying. Manufacturing output rose slightly by 0.2 percent sequentially in the third quarter. Compared with the third quarter of 2015, manufacturing output was stable, whereas the overall industrial output dropped 0.3 percent year-on-year in the September quarter.