Eurozone construction output edges lower
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.