Industrial production in Eurozone, EU decreases in July

Eurostat data showed industrial output fell 0.1% in euro area and 0.3% in EU on monthly basis, while annual output remained stable in single-currency zone

The decline followed a 0.1% contraction in both regions in June, official figures showed on Wednesday.

On an annual basis, industrial output remained stable in the euro area and grew 0.3% across the 27-member bloc in July compared with the same month last year.

Among main industrial groupings in the euro area, non-durable consumer goods posted the largest monthly decline with a 1.6% drop, while energy output recorded the highest monthly increase at 0.9%.

In the EU, non-durable consumer goods production shrank 1.3% month-on-month, whereas energy production saw the strongest monthly expansion with a 0.6% rise.

Denmark recorded the largest monthly decrease in industrial production among EU member states at 4.2%, followed by Bulgaria with 2.9% and Lithuania with 2.4%.

Luxembourg observed the highest monthly increase at 4.5%, while Croatia grew 3.9% and Ireland expanded 2.6%.

On a yearly comparison, energy production registered the highest surge in both the euro area at 4% and the EU at 2.5%, whereas non-durable consumer goods suffered the steepest drops of 4.5% and 3.2%, respectively.

The Netherlands posted the highest annual growth among member states at 8.2%, followed by Croatia at 7.2% and Lithuania at 6.5%, while Bulgaria experienced the largest contraction at 6.8%.