Malta: Industrial production climbs for second month in a row

Industrial production in Malta increased by 1.5 percent in July, compared to the previous month, registering the second consecutive rise. The average increase in the EU reached 4.1 percent, with only Denmark (-4.9%), Latvia (-0.8%), and Belgium (-0.5%) experiencing decreases from June, according to Eurostat data. Portugal saw the highest growth of 11.9 percent, followed by Spain (+9.4%) and Ireland (+8.3%).

Production was up across all industrial groupings, rising by 5.6 percent in capital goods and by 4.8 percent in durable consumer goods. The smallest increase was recorded in energy production (+1.3%) and non-durable consumer goods (+2.8%).

Compared with July 2019, industrial production in the EU fell by 7.3 percent, registering a sharp decrease in capital goods (-10.2%), intermedia goods (-8.7%), and energy (-6.6%).

Denmark experienced a 13.6 percent decline, the largest in the EU27, followed by Germany (-11.6%) and Portugal (-9.6%). On the other hand, Ireland (+15.6%), Poland (+0.9%), and Latvia (+0.1%) were the only countries to record a year-on-year increase.

Malta registered the fifth smallest decline from July 2019, with industrial production falling by 2.5 percent. The decrease was also the narrowest recorded in 2020.