Spain's industrial production declined by 8.5 percent in December 2012 in comparison with the same month of 2011, latest data published by the Spanish National Institute of Statistics (INE) on Thursday showed.

On a monthly basis, Spain's industrial production fell by 13.1 percent from November to the last month of 2012.

For the whole year of 2012, industrial production in the crisis hit country declined by 5.9 percent, compared to a 1.8-percent decline in 2011.

According to the INE, energy was the only sector that had had a positive impact on the index. Production relating to oil refining increased by 4.6 percent, while pharmaceutical products and paper rose by 1.8 and 0.2 percent respectively.

Meanwhile, mining activities registered a sharp fall of 19.1 percent while electronics, computing and optics experienced a 16 percent decline.