Industrial production in the eurozone slumped in October, dashing hopes for the tepid recovery and raising questions about the EU’s handling of the crisis.
Overall, the latest figures are the worst since the height of the crisis in the eurozone. The average was a fall of 1.1% in October, against predictions of a 0.3% rise.
Portugal’s fate was a drop of 0.3% in October. In the six-month period of May to October, Portugal has experience an equal number of rises and falls. The decline, although lower than some other countries, was still significant.
France experienced the same fall of 0.3%, and like Portugal, was for the second month in a row.
Germany’s fall was 1.2% in October, the Netherlands was struggling with a 3.5% drop, while Ireland experienced a whopping 11.6% decline, despite being heralded as the post-bailout success story.
Across the region, energy production dropped as did production of durable goods, such as cars and electronics.
The weakness in the production of capital and durable goods, the fourth in a row, are a sign that both investment and consumer confidence remains limited and may be faltering.
