Euro-area construction output rose in May, as advances in Germany and Portugal offset declines in Italy, Spain and the Netherlands.

Construction in the 17-nation euro area advanced 0.1 per cent from April, when it dropped 3.7 per cent, the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg said yesterday. From a year earlier, construction output declined 8.4 per cent.

In Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, construction output increased 3.1 percent from April, when it fell 5.5 per cent, the report showed. Portugal and France reported increases of 3.6 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively. In Italy, output fell 1.4 per cent from the previous month, when it dropped 4.3 per cent. Spanish output slumped 3.3 per cent after a three per cent drop in April, and the Netherlands had a decline of 0.7 per cent.

In the 27-nation EU, output rose 1.6 per cent from April, when it fell 6.9 per cent.