By William L. Watts
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Industrial production across the 16-nation euro zone rose by 0.9% in May and was 9.4% higher than in the same month last year, the European Union statistics agency Eurostat reported Wednesday. Economists had forecast a 1.3% monthly rise and an 11.3% annual increase. Eurostat also said consumer inflation in the euro zone was flat in June for an annual rise of 1.4%. That was down from an annual pace of 1.6% in May and matched a preliminary estimate by Eurostat.
