Press release 04/05/2010

INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION INDEX (IPI) MARCH 2010

Industrial activity in the Basque Country was up by 1.9% in March 2010

Compared to the previous month, February 2010, industrial production in the Basque Country rose by 1.3%

Industrial production in the Basque Country rose by 1.9% in March 2010 compared to the same month of 2009 in homogenous terms of the working calendar, according to EUSTAT data.

Compared to the previous month, February 2010, industrial production in the Basque Country increased by 1.3%, once seasonal effects had been corrected.

By sector, and using the major industrial sector classification, the evolution of the index for March 2010 compared to March 2009 was positive for Intermediary Goods and Consumer Goods, but remained negative in the other cases. Intermediary Goods rose by 11.3% and Consumer Goods were up by 6.2%, as a result of the increase posted by Consumer Non-durables (9.1%) as Consumer Durables experienced a 3.9% downturn. Energy fell by 17.4% and Capital Goods were down by 3.5%.



Inter-monthly variations in March 2010, in relation to February 2007, were positive for the major industrial sectors, except for Capital Goods, which fell by 1.2%. Energy rose by 0.8%, Intermediary Goods by 2.0%, Consumer Goods were up by 4.5%, as a result of the increases registered by both Consumer Durables (2.7%) and Non-Durables (5.1%).

By province, the March year-on-year performance for the Industrial Production Index was positive in Álava, up 12.0%, and in Gipukzoa, where it rose by 3.5%. However, it fell by 4.0% in Bizkaia. The month-on-month growth rate was positive in the three provinces, with increases of 4.5% in Álava, 0.8% in Bizkaia and 0.2% in Gipuzkoa.

For further information:

Euskal Estatistika-Erakundea / Instituto Vasco de Estadística C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Tlf:+34-945-01 75 00 Fax:+34-945-01 75 01 E-mail: eustat@eustat.es Contact: Gerardo Pérez Aja T el:+34-945-01 75 06 F ax:+34-945-01 75 01 Online press releases: IPI - Industrial Production Index Databank: Industrial Production Index (IPI)