An employee works on an assembly line at a Renault factory in Dieppe, France, on Sept. 1, 2015.Philippe Wojazer/Reuters
Euro zone industrial production rose as expected month-on-month in July thanks to stronger output of capital goods and durable consumer goods, but was still well below last year’s levels because of the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed on Monday.
The European Union’s statistics office Eurostat said industrial production in the 19 countries sharing the euro rose 4.1 per cent month-on-month for a 7.7 per cent year-on-year fall. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a 4.0 per cent monthly rise and a 8.2 per cent annual drop.
Production of investment goods rose 5.3 per cent on the month and was up 4.7 per cent for durable consumer goods but both were still well below last year’s levels at -10.4 per cent and -3.8 per cent respectively as the euro zone economy struggles with effects of lower economic activity caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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