Industrial output contracts in July
Industrial output dropped in July, falling a seasonally-adjusted 0.8% over the previous month. The result was in line with June’s revised 0.8% decrease (previously reported: -0.7% month-on-month). July’s fall was worse than the 0.5% decrease expected by market analysts and marked another weak print for the Eurozone economy, which has experienced a raft of soft economic data in recent months. The downturn came on the back of contractions in the production of durable, non-durable and intermediate goods.
On an annual basis, industrial production contracted for the first time in a year and a half, falling 0.1% in July and contrasting June’s 2.3% reading. Meanwhile, annual average industrial production growth fell to 3.1% from 3.4%.
Among the Euro area economies for which data is available, Malta saw the largest drop in industrial output in July, contracting 6.3% over the previous month. Conversely, Ireland and Latvia recorded the largest expansions, growing at 2.8% and 1.8% respectively. Meanwhile, industrial output fell 1.8% in both Germany and Italy, fell 0.3% in Spain, but rose 0.7% in France.