November Industrial Production Declines in the UK and France

The lackluster performance of the past two years of industrial production in France and in the UK continued in November with declines in both countries. In France, total industrial production declined 0.40% but was 1.21% above November of 2002. In the UK, industrial production declined 0.19% in November and was 0.42% below the year ago figure.

Production of consumer goods was down in both countries. In France, production of capital goods was up almost 1% from October and over 6% from November, 2002 while, in the UK, capital goods production declined 0.32% in November, but was 4.24% above a year ago.

While exchange rates, through their impact on export demand, are only one factor affecting the level of industrial production, the dampening effect of the rapid rise in both the pound and the euro over the past two years has probably been a significant factor in the lackluster performance of industrial production in both the UK and France. From the end of 2001 to the end of November, 2003, the pound has risen 18% while the euro has risen 35% or almost twice as much.