Euro Area Industrial Output Falls 1.4% for October
Factory production fell 1.4% in the euro area in October, according to the European Union statistical commission, Eurostat, continuing a downward trend for industrial output in the recession-plagued region. In comparison with October 2011, production fell 3.6% year-over-year.
The decline was actually less than September's fall, when industrial output dropped 2.3%. However, capital goods fell by 3% in the euro area as well, joined by a 3.8% reduction in the production of durable consumer goods and a 1.5% fall in the production of energy.
Many of the euro area's most prominent nations suffered the hardest hits in October. Industrial production suffered the most in Ireland, falling more than 16%, but Italy, the third-largest euro area economy, already caught up in the sixth straight quarter of recession and the announcement of Prime Minister Mario Monti's early resignation, saw further bad news as factory output declined more than 6%. Germany's output also fell 3.8%, with France's down 3%. Germany, France, and Italy make up a significant majority of the euro area's industrial output, with their declines helping to push the overall production figure lower.
Outside of the common euro area, the United Kingdom also saw factory output dip 3.5% for October after it fell a similar amount in September.
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