Factories and refineries in the euro zone ratcheted down production in May at the fastest rate in nearly 16 years amid growing economic headwinds, official EU data show today.
The European Union's Eurostat data agency said industrial output in the euro zone fell 1.9% in May from April - the steepest monthly decline since December 1992. Despite the sharp pull-back, production was stronger than the 2.3% slump economists had forecast.
Over 12 months, industrial output fell 0.6%, Eurostat said, which was worse than the 0.4% increase that economists had expected.
The figures, which were adjusted for seasonal variations, marked a sharp pull-back from April, when output rose 1% over one month and jumped 4% over one year, according to revised figures from Eurostat.
The weaker May showing was driven by a fall in the production of durable consumer goods such as cars and appliances and non-durable consumer goods such as cosmetics, food and fuel. The weakness was broad-based including in the biggest euro zone economies Germany, France and Italy.
In the 27-nation EU as a whole, industrial output fell 1.4% over one month in May and 0.6% over one year.
