(ANSA) - BRUSSELS - Third decline in a row in industrial production in the 19-member eurozone, which in February was down 0.8% month on month; it was down 0.6% in January and down 0.1% in December, Eurostat reported. Even in the 28-member eurozone a decrease by 0.7% was recorded, whereas it was down 0.3% in the previous month and 0% in the last month of 2017. A similar trend was recorded in Italy, where industrial production fell down 0,5%, while it was down 1.8% in January and up 2.1% in December.

Over the year, however, the index is still growing: up 2.9% in the 19-member eurozone and up 3.1% in the 28-member eurozone, and up 2.5% in Italy. The countries where production has recorded the sharpest declines on a monthly basis are Lithuania (down 3.9%), Estonia (down 2.7%), Malta and Portugal (down 2.3%), whereas it recorded the biggest increases in Latvia and the Netherlands (up 3.9%) and Croatia (up 2.1%). Germany recorded a decrease by 1.5%, France and increase by 1.3%, and Spain by 1.4%. (ANSA).