RTTN:Euro Area December Industrial Output Growth Eases More Than Forecast
Eurozone's industrial production increased at a significantly slower pace in December, and the growth rate missed economists' expectations, latest data showed Wednesday.
Industrial output growth eased to 0.5 percent in December from a downwardly revised 2.8 percent in the prior month, statistical office Eurostat said. Economists had forecast growth to weaken to 1.8 percent from November's originally reported 3 percent.
Energy production fell 1.9 percent compared to December 2012. Production of non-durable consumer goods and durable consumer goods dropped 0.9 percent and 1.2 percent respectively. Meanwhile, Production of intermediate goods rose by 3.6 percent.
Among the EU member states, the biggest increases were registered in Portugal, Romania, the Czech Republic and Slovenia. The largest decreases were recoded in Malta, Ireland, Estonia and Finland.
Sequentially, industrial production decreased 0.7 percent at the end of 2013, following a 1.6 percent gain in November, which was revised down from 1.8 percent. Production was forecast to fall 0.3 percent.
