BRUSSELS: Eurozone industrial production fell back 1.2 percent month on month in May, reversing a revised 1.4 percent rise for April, Eurostat data showed Wednesday, raising concerns of sluggish growth.
Explaining the fall, the European statistics body cited production of energy falling by 4.3 percent, capital goods by 2.3 percent and durable consumer goods by 1.4 percent.
A Capital Economics research note suggested that "industry will probably detract from eurozone GDP growth in the second quarter. The 1.2 percent fall was weaker than the consensus forecast of a shallower 0.8 percent (month on month) drop.
"The general weakness seen in today's release clearly shows that euro-zone industry is struggling to gain traction," Capital Economics added.
It cited the feared impact ahead of the UK's vote to leave the European Union and the effect of higher oil prices which could force the European Central Bank to loosen monetary policy still further.
Industrial production rose 0.5 percent year-on-year in the eurozone and 1.1 percent in the 28-member bloc as a whole.
Across the 28-member Union as a whole industrial production fell 1.1 percent in May after a 1.5 percent increase in April, Eurostat said.
"After a solid increase in the first quarter of 2016, the industrial output is set for a clear slowdown in the second quarter, confirming our view that GDP growth will decelerate in spring after a strong performance" at the beginning of the year, said Daniel Vernazza, lead UK economist at UniCredit bank.
"To assess the near-term impact of Brexit on the eurozone industrial sector we have to wait for the July round of business surveys. Since Brexit is expected to drag down economic activity in the eurozone mostly via the trade channel, the industrial sector is likely to shift down a gear in the next months," he added.
The largest falls inside the 19-member eurozone showed Dutch industrial production dropping 7.8 percent in May, by 4.4 percent in Portugal and 4.3 percent in Greece.
The Baltic states of Lithuania and Latvia fared better with rises of 3.9 percent and 2.4 percent.
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