EU construction output levels rose by 0.4% in August compared to the previous month, data agency Eurostat said Thursday.
Construction output for the eurozone was up by 0.5%, Eurostat added.
Revised data also showed that July production in construction in the EU and eurozone rose by 1.3% and 0.7% respectively, instead of by 0.7% and 0.3% as originally estimated.
The construction industry is a key end market for chemicals producers.
“Among the Member States for which data are available for August 2013, production in construction rose in seven and fell in eight,” Eurostat said.
“The highest increases were observed in Portugal (+10.8%), Sweden (+4.8%), Hungary (+4.0%) and Italy (+3.4%), and the largest decreases in the Czech Republic (-3.6%), Slovenia (-2.8%), Germany (-1.9%) and Poland (-1.6%),” it added.
Year on year, construction output fell by 2.5% in the EU and by 4.7% in the eurozone.
“Among the Member States for which data are available for August 2013, production in construction fell in nine and rose in six,” the agency said.
“The largest decreases were registered in Portugal (-12.8%), Italy (-10.6%), Bulgaria (-9.5%) and Poland (-8.9%), and the highest increases in Hungary (+14.6%), Romania (+8.9%), Spain (+7.0%) and Sweden (+5.0%),” it added.