Industrial output falls in May
Greece’s industrial output fell 7.2 percent year-on-year in May, contracting for the 13th consecutive month, the National Statistical Service (NSS) said yesterday. The NSS said that in the first five months of the year, industrial production contracted 8.7 percent year-on-year versus a 3.5 percent drop in the same period in 2008. Manufacturing output fell 7.3 percent in May after a 14.3 percent drop in April. Economists said the downturn in the industrial sector reflects weakening domestic demand and falling export orders. Negative growth rates in manufacturing are seen as persisting for the remainder of the year. Eurozone industrial production shrank 21.6 percent year-on-year in April, increasing risk that the second quarter will be weaker than expected. Industry accounts for about 15 percent of the output of Greece’s service-oriented economy, with manufacturing amounting to slightly more than 11 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.
