Ukraine's industrial output dropped 0.5% year-on-year in August following a 2.9% y/y growth in July, the Ukrstat state statistics service reported on September 21.

Seasonally adjusted output declined 0.7% month-on-month in August (vs. a 1.3% m/m decline in July). In January-August, industrial output increased 2.2% y/y (vs 2.6% y/y growth in January-July).

Mining output rose 2.3% y/y in August (after 4.5% y/y growth in July). In particular, coal production increased 7.2% y/y while oil and gas production advanced 7.3% y/y. At the sae time iron ore production dropped 0.4% y/y (from a 8.1% y/y surge in July).

August manufacturing output declined 0.5% y/y (from a 2.3% y/y rise in July) mostly owing to a drop in machinery of 1.5% y/y (vs. 1.0% y/y growth in July). The decline in food production slowed to 1.0% y/y (from  a 1.9% /decline in July). Metallurgy output grew by 1.7% y/y (vs 5.6% y/y growth in July). Output in utilities declined 6.4% y/y (from 3.2% y/y growth in July).

Evgeniya Akhtyrko at Kyiv-based brokerage Concorde Capital wrote in a note on September 24 that Ukraine’s industry isn't demonstrating any consistent improvement. "The food industry continues to decline despite growing consumer demand. Ukrainian machinery is apparently unsuccessful in finding new markets to replace lost clients in Russia or other CIS countries, while the capacity of the domestic market is exhausted at the moment," she added.

Concorde believes that the prospects of any essential boost in industrial growth through the year end is unlikely possible.