Feb factory output down 1.08% y/y

The manufacturing production index (MPI) for February was down 1.08% from a year earlier, weighed down by lower oil production, the industry ministry said on Wednesday.

The reading compared with a forecast for a rise of 0.1% in a Reuters poll and January’s revised 2.0% fall.

Output in March is expected to rise due to a low base effect, the ministry said.