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Eurozone industrial production falls in April | Eurozone industrial production falls in April |
(40 minutes later) | |
Output from eurozone factories fell by 0.8% in April, according to the latest official figures from EU body Eurostat. | 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. | The drop in industrial production was not as bad as feared, and March's figure was revised up to a 0.1% fall. |
But the fall in output is a 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. | 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. | 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. | |
German powerhouse | |
A German economic think tank, the RWI Institute, raised its growth forecast for the euro area's biggest economy. It now expects German wealth to expand 1.1% this year, compared with an earlier estimate of 1%. | |
The country's 0.5% growth in the first three months of the year offset recessions in Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and peripheral states such as Portugal and Spain to give the eurozone a GDP growth rate of zero in the first quarter. | |
Austria, Belgium, Finland, Estonia and Slovakia also reported economic growth for the start of 2012 but, as the world's fourth-biggest economy, Germany dwarfs most of its eurozone neighbours. | |
Generating economic wealth across the eurozone is seen as essential for governments trying to pay off colossal debts. | |
Cheaper fuel | Cheaper fuel |
Separate figures showed that inflation eased in the eurozone's biggest economies during May as retailers cut prices. | 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. That was slightly slower than the 2.1% annual rate registered in April. | |
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, down from April's 2.4% annual rise. Italian inflation remained stubbornly high at 3.5%, but that was still down from 3.7% in April. |