March 6 (SeeNews) - Croatia's industrial output fell by 5.5% year-on-year in January, exceeding the drop of 2.2% predicted by analysts at Austria-based Erste banking group, Erste said on Friday.
"Industrial production showed less favorable entry into 2020, with January headline figure deepening to -5.5% on the year, thus marking the strongest decline since the end of 2018," Erste said in an instant comment after the country's statistical office published industrial output data earlier in the day.
In December, the country's industrial production decreased by 2.2% year-on-year.
Erste analysts noted that the energy and consumer non-durable goods gave the most negative contribution to industrial output in January, while the only positive contribution was made by the consumer goods sector.
The analysts said that they expect industrial production in 2020 to maintain an overall volatile pattern.
"While domestic demand support should remain present, headwinds related to EU growth prospects would continue to weigh on the external demand performance, thus limiting stronger recovery potential," Erste said.
Moreover, the ongoing spread of coronavirus in Europe will further weigh on the industrial outlook in the short term, according to Erste.
In 2019, Croatia's industrial output rose 0.5% compared to the prior year.