Industrial output in the eurozone moved lower in July, weighed down by a fall in production of non-durable consumer goods, according to Eurostat data published Wednesday.
The euro area's seasonally adjusted industrial production ticked down 0.1% month over month in July, following a revised 0.1% decline in June. Analysts expected a 0.2% decrease for the month.
The statistical office said production of durable consumer goods and energy each grew 0.9% on a monthly basis, while output of non-durable consumer goods declined 1.6%. Production of capital goods and intermediate goods also contributed positively to the overall output.
Germany and France, the eurozone's two largest economies, respectively recorded industrial output declines of 1.5% and 0.4%. On the other hand, Italy saw a 0.7% rise and Spain booked a 0.6% gain.
"The latest industrial production figures are hardly disastrous, but they do underline a picture of lost momentum. Production in the eurozone fell by 0.1% in July after already declining by 0.1% in June, leaving production broadly flat compared with a year earlier," research firm ING said in a quick take note. "While sectors such as capital goods and energy still showed some resilience, weakness in consumer-oriented industries remains striking, particularly for non-durable consumer goods, where production was down sharply compared with last year."
On an annual basis, industrial production in the euro area recorded zero growth, compared with the expected and revised 0.3% fall earlier. The intermediate goods, energy and capital goods industries saw increases over the period, while the durable consumer goods and non-durable consumer goods sectors logged drops of 1.2% and 4.5%, respectively.
"But while production figures are still lacklustre, sentiment among manufacturing corporates is becoming more upbeat again. The PMI indicated accelerating output in August, despite energy prices rising again. So while manufacturing is unlikely to contribute much to GDP growth over 3Q, there is hope for stronger performance towards the end of the year," ING added.
