Eurozone construction output dips 0.2% in December
Construction output in the eurozone fell 0.2% on the month in December compared to a 0.4% jump in November, according to figures released by Eurostat on Friday.
Building construction declined 0.5%, while civil engineering rose by 0.8%.
Meanwhile, year-on-year construction output was up 3.2%, with civil engineering rising by 6.5% and building construction by 2.5%.
In the EU-28 group of nations, construction output was up 0.6% on the month and 1.6% on the year.
Average production in the construction for the year 2016, compared with 2015, increased by 1.6% in the euro area and by 1.3% in the EU-28.
Pantheon Macroeconomics said the data was “much better than we feared”.
“The headline was depressed by falling output in France and Germany, but a big month-to-month increase in Spain and rising production in Portugal and the Netherlands offered offsetting support.
“Assuming no revisions, construction output rose 0.7% quarter-on-quarter in Q4, slowing from a 1.6% jump in Q3. Construction output 1.7% over 2016 as a whole, and survey data indicate that growth will accelerate in the first half of 2017. We think construction will continue to lift GDP growth in 2017, and we are on alert that this could force us to change our assumption for a modest slowdown in EZ GDP growth.”