Lithuanian industrial production growth accelerated to 7.8% y/y in November on a calendar-adjusted basis, according to data from Statistics Lithuania released on December 22.

The expansion in November sees output more than double its growth rate in comparison to the 3.6% y/y expansion in October, marking the 15th straight month of growth. The continuous growth of industrial production should keep the Lithuanian economy – which expanded by just 2.2% in 2016 and by 3.4% y/y in the third quarter – on a path to beat last year’s performance, in line with forecasts.

Economic expansion is likely to push to 2.9% in 2017, according to the European Commission. The International Monetary Fund predicted 3.5% in an update of its World Economic Outlook published in November.

In monthly seasonally and calendar-adjusted terms, industrial activity grew 2.7% in November, while unadjusted data recorded growth of 9% y/y and 3.9% m/m. In nominal terms, Lithuanian industry turned out product to the tune of €1.9bn in October, compared to €1.79bn in October and €1.68bn in November last year.

The adjusted annual growth owes to expansion across all the main sectors, with the exception of utilities. Production in the manufacturing segment grew 9.8% on the year, while in mining and quarrying it jumped 23.6% y/y. The water supply, sewage treatment, and waste management segment saw production expand 1.4% y/y. Output in the utilities segment fell 8.8% y/y.