Official figures show that factories and refineries in the euro zone cut their output at the fastest rate on record in April in the face of depressed demand.
The Eurostat data agency said euro zone industrial production fell 1.9% in April from March, bringing the drop over 12 months to a record 21.6%. Economists had forecast a monthly production slump of 0.6% and an annual fall of 20.1%.
In March, production had fallen 1.4% over one month and 19.3% over 12 months.
In the broader 27-nation EU, industrial production also suffered steep declines, falling 0.9% on a monthly basis and 19.3% over the year.
