European construction reports third consecutive monthly fall

European construction output dropped for a third month in February, led by declines in Germany and Italy.

Construction in the 17-nation euro region plunged 7.1 per cent from January, when it slipped a revised 0.5 per cent, the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg said. From a year earlier, output fell 12.9 per cent.

German builders’ output plummeted 17.1 per cent after a 4.7 per cent gain in January, according to today’s report. In Italy and France, output declined 9.9 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively. Spanish output dropped 1.5 per cent.

The statistics office had previously reported a monthly drop of 0.8 per cent in January. Ireland and Greece are among countries that are not required to provide monthly data.