Construction output in the Euro Area increased 2 percent from a year earlier in May 2019, easing from a downwardly revised 3.1 percent growth in the previous month and missing market expectations of 2.4 percent. Output rose at a softer pace for both building activity (2 percent vs 2.7 percent) and civil engineering works (2.3 percent vs 3.5 percent). Among Eurozone's largest economies, Germany's output growth slowed sharply (0.1 percent vs 5.5 percent) and Spain's activity was unchanged (vs 2.2 percent in April) while France's construction output rebounded 4 percent (vs -2.2 percent in April). On a monthly basis, construction output fell 0.3 percent in May, the third consecutive month of contraction. Construction Output in the Euro Area averaged -0.26 percent from 1996 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 18.40 percent in February of 2000 and a record low of -22.60 percent in February of 1996.
Construction Output in Euro Area is expected to be 2.00 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Construction Output in Euro Area to stand at 1.80 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Euro Area Construction Output is projected to trend around 2.20 percent in 2020, according to our econometric models.