OREANDA-NEWS. March 17, 2010. The industrial output (IO) grew 5.6%, y/y in February 2010, though it declined by 0.7%, m/m. As a result, the IO growth slowed down from 11.8%, y/y in 1M10 to 8.8%, y/y in 2M10. The principal IO drivers were the growths in engineering (16.1%, m/m) and chemical sector (14.1%), whereas the metallurgy output dropped by 8.7%, m/m.

Millennium Capital sees the news of the monthly IO drop to be neutral, since the output of such a key IO driver as engineering remained high in February, while the drop in metallurgy was seasonal due to the unfavorable weather that month. Millennium Capital expects growth to pick up in coal mining, heavy machinery and metallurgy starting from March 2010, and the IO to increase by around 8%, y/y in 2010.