Eurozone industrial production falls less than expected

Industrial production in the eurozone fell for the first time in four months in May, according to data from Eurostat on Monday, though the decline wasn't as bad as economists had feared.

Seasonally adjusted industrial production decreased by 0.6% in May, following a revised estimate showing no change the month before, changed from the initial reading of -0.1%.

This was the first monthly drop in production since January, but not as severe as the 1.0% decline expected.

Compared with May 2023, production was 2.9% lower, following the 3.1% annual drop registered in April.

Over the month, production declined for intermediate goods (-1.0%), capital goods (-1.2%) and durable consumer goods (-1.8%), but increased for energy (+0.8%) and non-durable consumer goods (+1.6%).

Across member states, the largest monthly decrease in overall industrial production was recorded in Slovenia (-7.3%), while the highest growth was seen in Ireland (+6.7%).