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Eurozone industrial production falls in April | |
(39 minutes later) | |
Output from eurozone factories fell by 0.8% in April, according to the latest official figures from EU body Eurostat. | |
The drop in industrial production was not as bad as feared, and March's figure was revised up to a 0.1% fall. | |
However, falling factory output is sign of slower economic activity. Eurozone GDP stagnated in the first quarter of the year and shrank at the end of 2011. | |
On Wednesday, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti again called for a plan to boost EU growth. | |
Jonathan Loynes of Capital Economics said that while the latest industrial production figures were not as bad as expected, the data was still a bad sign. | |
"April's industrial production figures provide an early indication that the eurozone' s narrow escape from technical recession in Q1 is unlikely to last very long," he said. | |
Cheaper fuel | |
Separate figures showed that inflation eased in the eurozone's biggest economies during May as retailers cut prices. | |
In Germany, consumer prices rose 2.2% compared with a year earlier, based on the European Central Bank's favoured HICP measure. | In Germany, consumer prices rose 2.2% compared with a year earlier, based on the European Central Bank's favoured HICP measure. |
Cheaper fuel fed through into lower transport costs for households and firms in France, Germany and Italy. | Cheaper fuel fed through into lower transport costs for households and firms in France, Germany and Italy. |
French consumer prices were up 2.3% from last May. Italian inflation remained stubbornly high at 3.5%. | French consumer prices were up 2.3% from last May. Italian inflation remained stubbornly high at 3.5%. |