Industrial production in the A.C. of the Basque Country in April 2006 fell by 0.5% with regard to the same month in 2005, in homogeneous terms of the working calendar, according to EUSTAT data. Over the first four months of the year the accumulated growth was 5.7% on the same period in 2005.

In April 2006, compared to March 2006, industrial production in the A.C. of the Basque Country fell by 1.4%, once corrected for calendar effects. Therefore, the deceleration in March (-1.3%) continued in April (-1.4%).

Sectorial evolution

By sectors, bearing in mind the classification of large industrial sectors, the evolution of the index in April 2006 with regard to April 2005 presents growth in Capital Goods (2.1%) and Energy (2.0%), with decreases in Intermediate Goods (-0.6%) and, above all, Consumer Goods (-7.2%), as a result of the decreases in both Durable Consumer Goods (-7.6%) and Non-Durable Consumer Goods (-6.9%).

The inter-monthly variations for April 2006, on March 2006, were negative in all the industrial sectors. Energy fell by 8.9% in inter-monthly terms, Capital Goods decreased by 2.2% with regard to the previous month, Intermediate Goods fell by 0.2% and Consumer Goods decreased by 2.6% with regard to the past month of March, due to the decreases undergone by Non-Durable Consumer Goods (-3.1%) and Durable Consumer Goods (-1.4%).

Evolution by province

By provinces, the inter-annual evolutions of the Industrial Production Index were positive in Bizkaia (0.6%) and Gipuzkoa (0.3%), with a 3.8% decrease in Álava.

The inter-monthly rates, April 2006 on March 2006, for the provinces showed decreases in each, with a 1.8% inter-monthly decrease in Bizkaia, 1.2% inter-monthly fall in Gipuzkoa and 0.9% in Álava.