Eurozone construction output rises in Feb

According to the preliminary data from Eurostat, seasonally adjusted production in the construction sector in the eurozone rose by 6.9% in February month-on-month and by 7.1% year-on-year.

According to the data, the monthly increase in February 2017 was mainly due to the rise in civil engineering by 10.1% and in building construction by 6.2%. The data also shows that Slovenia, Belgium and Germany recorded the largest increases by 25.7%, 18.7% and 13.6% respectively in the production in construction while Poland, Sweden and the UK posted the largest decreases respectively by 2.8%, 1.8% and 1.6% on a monthly basis.

Similarly, the rise in construction in the eurozone on a yearly basis in February 2017 was mainly driven by an increase of 10.3% in civil engineering and 6.2% in building construction, the data reveals. Among the member states, Slovenia, Hungary, Sweden and Germany recorded the largest increases in production in construction on a yearly basis by 21.4%, 15.1%, 13.2% and 11.6% respectively while Slovakia (10.6%), the Czech Republic (5.5%) and Poland (5.1%) recorded the largest decreases on year.