[Ferro-Alloys.com] France's manufacturing demand fell sharply again in April, induced by the nationwide lockdown to contain the Covid-19 outbreak.

 

Seasonal and working day-adjusted manufacturing output fell by 37.1pc in April from a year earlier. This was almost twice as steep as the 19.4pc year-on-year fall in March.

 

The decline in manufacturing demand varied widely by sector, with government measures to curb the pandemic applying more to some sectors than to others.

 

Coke and oil refining production — which constituted around a third of French industrial gas demand in 2018 — was down by as much as 47.5pc from April 2019. But output ticked up slightly from a month earlier, because of the restart of a refinery that had been shut down in March for maintenance.

 

Demand in the basic metals as well as the rubber, plastics and non-metals sectors was down by more than 50pc. But there was only around a 10pc fall in the food and beverage sector, which was exempt from some of the government restrictions.

 

France introduced a nationwide lockdown on 17 March and lifted it on 11 May, suggesting that the steepest contraction in industrial output may have been concentrated in April.

 

French industrial gas demand has moved back close to recent-year averages in recent weeks, having held well below previously, as economic activity has restarted. Industrial consumption of 294 GWh/d in April was 55 GWh/d below the three-year average.

 

But the economic repercussions of the virus are expected to far outlast the actual confinement period, which could result in slightly weaker weather-adjusted gas consumption persisting in the coming months. The OECD expects the eurozone's gross domestic product to fall by 11.5pc this year if a second wave of infections breaks out, and by more than 9pc otherwise, with the sharpest contractions in Spain, Italy and France.

 

Source: Argusmedia