Eurozone construction output drops 1% in October

Construction output in the eurozone fell in October, more or less wiping out the previous month's growth, according to figures released Wednesday by Eurostat.

Production was down 1.0% month-on-month in the single-currency region, after an upwardly revised 0.9% gain in September following the initial estimate of 0.4% growth.

European powerhouses Germany and France saw monthly declines of 2.2% and 2% in production, respectively.

Over the month, eurozone civil engineering output was down 1.0% while building construction fell 0.9%.

Compared with October the year before, regional output was down 0.7%, in line with the annual decline registered in September.

"Euro area construction output dropped at the start of Q4, and leading indicators suggest it was an overall tough quarter for the sector," said Melanie Debono, senior Europe economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

Debono is forecasting a 1% decline in eurozone construction output across the whole of the fourth quarter on the back of weakness in purchasing managers indices already released for October and November.