Finland's Industrial Output Slump Worsens In January

(RTTNews) - Finland's industrial production continued to contract in January, and at a significantly faster pace than in December, figures released by Statistics Finland revealed Monday.

Industrial production fell a working-day adjusted 7.5 percent in January from the corresponding month of last year. This followed a 2.4 percent fall in December. The sector has recorded negative output growth throughout last year.

January's downturn was led by an 8.7 percent fall in manufacturing production, and an 11.4 percent contraction in mining output.

Within the manufacturing sector, the electrical and electronics industry recorded the sharpest annual decline of 22.8 percent. Production in the chemical industry and metal industry fell by 3.3 percent and 10.3 percent respectively compared to January 2013. Output of household utilities dropped 1.7 percent.

Industrial output decreased a seasonally adjusted 3.5 percent compared to December, when it recorded a 0.4 percent decline.

The statistical office further noted that capacity utilization at Finnish factories was 78.7 percent in January, lower by 2.1 percentage points than in January last year.