Industrial production unexpectedly slowed in February as declining disposable incomes eroded consumer demand and investments failed to spur growth, the State Statistics Service said Wednesday in a statement.
Output at factories, mines and utilities rose an annual 5.8 percent after increasing 6.7 percent in January. Consumer prices rose an annual 9.5 percent last month, sapping disposable income and curbing retail sales. Real disposable income fell 5.5 percent in January.
Manufacturing output advanced an annual 10 percent in February, down from 14 percent in January, the statistics service said. Output at mines and energy companies grew 3.2 percent, compared with a 3.5 percent gain in January. Production at utilities was unchanged in February from a year earlier, after falling 3.4 percent in January.
(Bloomberg)
