Industrial production in the euro area and the EU decreased considerably in July 2023, with Croatia being among countries with a more pronounced drop, the largest since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a Eurostat report released on Wednesday.

According to seasonally adjusted data, industrial production in the euro area and the EU dropped in July 2023 by 1.1% compared to the previous month, when it grew by 0.4%, while compared to July 2022, it dropped by 2.2% in the euro area and by 2.4% in the EU.

Month-on-month, the production of capital goods in July 2023 dropped the most, by 2.7% in the euro area and by 2.4% in the EU, a much sharper decline than in June, while energy production increased strongly, by 1.6% in the euro area and by 1.5% in the EU, after stagnating in June.

Year-on-year, industrial production in the euro area and the EU dropped in July 2023 by 2.2% and 2.4% respectively, nearly twice as much as in the previous month. The production of durable consumer goods dropped the most in the euro area, by 6.7%, while in the EU energy production dropped the most, by 7.4%.

The production of capital goods was the only to see a mild year-on-year increase in both the euro area and the EU, of 0.4% and 1% respectively.

According to data available to Eurostat, month-on-month, industrial production dropped the most in Denmark, by 9.1%, and grew the most in Sweden, by 5.1%. In Croatia, industrial output in July 2023 dropped by 3.9% from June 2023.

Year-on-year, Bulgaria saw the largest drop in industrial production, of 11.5%, while Denmark saw the largest increase, of 5.7%. In Croatia, according to seasonally adjusted data, in July 2023 industrial production dropped by 0.7% compared to July 2022, after growing by 2.4% in June 2023.