Spain's industrial output slips in January

Spanish industrial production slipped in January, as output of intermediate goods and energy proved a drag.

The country's industrial production dropped by 0.1% month-on-month according to the country's national statistics institute, INE.

That was below economists' projections for a gain of 0.2%.

A revised estimate for December revealed a flat reading over the month, up from an initial estimate of a decline of -0.2%, making up to a large degree for January's 'miss'.

According to Gizem Kira at BNP Paribas, the breakdown of activity by sectors revealed that the underlying picture was "better" than the headline number would appear to suggest.

Output of intermediate goods declined by 0.9% month-on-month and that of intermediate goods by 0.4%.

However, production of consumer and capital goods increased by 0.7% and 0.6% month-on-month, respectively.

Even so, in terms of quarterly rates of change Spanish industrial output was on a downtrend, BNP noted.

It expanded by 0.5% quarter-on-quarter in the last three months of 2015, after rising by 0.6% in the third quarter and by 1.6% between April and June of 2015.

"January data suggest Q1 is likely to see this downward trend continuing, consistent with the loss of momentum in recent survey data, such as the manufacturing PMI.

"The data, overall, is consistent with our view that Spanish GDP growth should soften in Q1, rising 0.6% q/q, on our estimates, following stable 0.8% q/q growth rates in Q3 and Q4," Kira concluded.