Finland's industrial production expanded strongly in March after contracting in the previous month, largely driven by the sharp growth in the utility sector along with the metal industry, data from Statistics Finland showed on Wednesday.
Industrial production advanced a working-day-adjusted 4.5 percent year-on-year in March, reversing a 3.0 percent fall in the previous month.
Among the main industries, output produced in the electricity, gas, heating, and cooling segments logged an annual growth of 13.8 percent, and that of the metal industry gained 8.8 percent.
On the contrary, mining and quarrying production grew notably by 8.1 percent, and output produced in the food industry rose 2.3 percent.
On a monthly basis, industrial production climbed 3.0 percent from February, when it dropped by 2.4 percent.
Separate data from the statistical office showed that manufacturing new orders fell 3.5 percent annually in March, following a 4.4 percent decline in February. Orders in the chemical industry decreased the most, by 6.8 percent.
