Eurozone industrial production rises 0.1% in October
Brussels (AFP) - Industrial output in the eurozone rose just 0.1 percent in October, official data showed on Friday, in another sign that the European economy remains stalled.
The feeble rise in factory output data was a slowdown from the previous month, when industrial activity rose a still-low half percent.
The state of the eurozone economy continues to be a major source of worry around the world, with increasing fears Europe could sink into a long period of Japan-style deflation just as the outlook for the US economy improves further.
Underscoring concern, financial markets have been in retreat on fresh worries about Greece, struck by a new political crisis less than three years since problems in Athens nearly destroyed the euro.
"Eurozone industrial data for October confirm that, even before the resurgence of the Greek crisis and associated political and economic uncertainty, underlying economic activity was very weak," said a note from Capital Economics in London.
In October, the small rise in output from the previous month was led by a 1.8-percent rise in non-durable goods.
Across the 28-nation European Union, industrial output also edged higher by 0.1 percent in October, also led by non-durable consumer goods.
By country, industrial output in Ireland shot ahead by 9.0 percent and by 2.5 percent in Greece. France and the Netherlands both dropped by 0.9 percent.
