Eurozone construction output edges lower

(Sharecast News) - Construction output in the eurozone slipped slightly in September after stagnating the previous month, according to figures released on Wednesday by Eurostat. Output was down 0.1% over the month, after a flat reading in August and a 0.5% decline in July.

Building construction slumped 0.8% after growing by 1.2% the month before, and specialised construction activities were down 0.4% after rising 0.2% previous, while civil engineering output improved by 1.4%, bouncing back after a 1.7% drop.

For member states where data was available, the highest monthly increases were registered in Spain and Slovenia, where output grew by 1.7% each, while the biggest declines were seen in the Czech Republic (-5.5%) and Slovakia (-4.0%).

Compared with last September, total eurozone construction output was down 1.6%, though not quite as bad as the 2.5% and 2.3% annual declines seen over August and July, respectively.