Eurozone industrial production unexpectedly fell in April due to a drop in intermediate goods production, official data showed.
Industrial production fell 0.1% from the previous month, the first decline in three months, Eurostat said. Output is now expected to grow 0.2% after rising 0.5% in March.
Of the major industry groups, intermediate goods production was the only one to contract in April, falling 0.4%, while energy production increased 0.4%.
Non-durable consumer goods recorded the highest growth rate at 3.4 percent. Production of capital goods and durable consumer goods increased by 0.7 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.
On a year-on-year basis, the decline in industrial production widened to 3.0% from 1.2% in March, worse than the 1.9% decline economists had expected.
Industrial production in the EU27 rose 0.5% month-on-month in April, but fell 2.0% year-on-year.
The highest monthly increases were reported in Denmark, Greece and Poland, while Luxembourg, Latvia and Ireland reported steep declines.
Lily Millard, an economist at Capital Economics, said industrial production growth in the euro zone was likely to remain weak over the coming months.
The slowdown in euro zone manufacturing activity eased in May as production neared stabilization and the pace of decline in orders slowed, according to the latest purchasing managers' survey data. The manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to 47.3 in May from 45.7 in April, but any reading below the neutral level of 50.0 would indicate a contraction.
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Renju Jaya
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