BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - The euro area industrial production declined for the third straight month in August, suggesting that harsh weather and rising energy prices weighed on industrial activity.
Industrial output dropped 0.5 percent on a monthly basis in August, which was bigger than the 0.3 percent fall posted in July, data from Eurostat showed Thursday.
Moreover, this was third consecutive decrease. Production was expected to remain flat.
Year-on-year, industrial output logged a decline of 1.1 percent after easing 0.3 percent in July. The annual fall was weaker than economists' forecast of -0.1 percent.
Data showed that non-durable consumer goods, intermediate goods and energy contributed negatively to overall production. Production of non-durable consumer goods and intermediate goods fell 2.7 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively. Energy output was down 0.6 percent.
Partially offsetting these falls, capital goods and durable consumer goods output rose 0.4 percent and 0.2 percent respectively.
In the EU, industrial production fell 0.3 percent from July and dropped 0.2 percent from the last year.
The largest monthly decreases were recorded in Belgium, Ireland and Portugal, while the highest increases were observed in Sweden, Estonia and the Netherlands.
ING economist Bert Colijn expects continued high energy prices to weigh more on production in the months ahead. At the same time, manufacturer optimism reveals that the order pipeline is expected to remain decent, he noted.
With tech and public investments expected to continue, expectations of a modest growth outlook remain, said Colijn.
Earlier this week, the International Monetary Fund projected Eurozone growth at 1.1 percent in 2026 and 1.2 percent in 2027. The forecast was unchanged from the April report for both years.
The lender urged advanced economies to take strong and deliberate fiscal adjustment to bring down borrowing costs.
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