Eurozone industrial production down 0.1% in June

Industrial production in the eurozone dropped 0.1 percent in June, compared with the previous month, European Union (EU) statistics bureau Eurostat said Thursday.

It was the first decrease after three months of rises. In May, industrial production in the 16 EU nations that use the euro increased by 1.1 percent, according to revised figures.

In June, production of durable consumer goods in the eurozone dropped 0.9 percent on a monthly basis. Intermediate goods decreased 0.6 percent. Non-durable consumer goods fell 0.1 percent, while capital goods and energy rose 0.2 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.

Compared with June 2009, industrial production in the eurozone increased by 8.2 percent.

In the 27-nation EU, industrial production remained stable in June month on month, but rose 7.7 percent over a year ago.

Among the member states for which data were available, industrial production rose in 11, fell in eight and remained unchanged in Slovakia on a monthly basis.

The most significant fall was registered in the Netherlands, down by 3.1 percent, while the highest increase was registered in Lithuania, up 3 percent. Industrial production in Germany, the largest economy in the eurozone, fell 0.5 percent.

Source: Xinhua