-INSEE
France, the Euro zone's second biggest economy, saw its industrial production remaining flat in February, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. Analysts, however, had expected a 0.1% decline. Measured on the annual basis, industrial output rose 0.6% in the measured month, compared with a revised 0.5% advance in January. In the meantime, manufacturing production was also unchanged, after contracting a revised 0.3% a month earlier, while economists had predicted a 0.6% gain. March's manufacturing data from France showed the ongoing slowdown in the sector. The final manufacturing PMI came in at 48.8 in Mach, compared with the flash print of 48.2 and better than the final 47.6 seen in February.
Meanwhile, in Spain industrial production rose recovering from a slowdown in January. Measured on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, industrial output rose 1.1% on year in February, after reporting a 2% drop a month earlier. However, industrial output increased 0.6% during February on a seasonally adjusted annual basis compared to the preceding month's 0.4% rise. Analysts had predicted a 0.1% uptick. Last week data showed that Spain's manufacturing sector kept a resilient pace of growth in March and remained comfortably in expansion territory. The manufacturing PMI reached 54.3 in March, after the 54.2 recorded in February.
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