Brussels, 25/09/2001 (Agence Europe) - Industrial production in the eurozone decreased by 1.4% in the month of July, after rising by 0.9% in the month of June, according to seasonally adjusted estimates published by Eurostat on Monday. In July 2001 (compared with July 2000), industrial production dropped by 1.1% in the eurozone. Eurostat notes that these figures confirm the slowdown in the annual growth rates observed in both zones since December 2000. Production in the whole of the European Union (EU15) fell by 1.3% in July, after a gain of 0.7% in June and a fall of 0.4% in May. Industrial production fell by 1.4% in July 2001 in the EU15 on July 2000.
Compared with June 2001, industrial production decreased in all Member States. The greatest falls were recorded in Ireland (-14.6%), the Netherlands (-3.5%), Portugal (-1.9%), Spain (-1.7%) and Germany (-1.6%). The production of durable consumer goods was particularly badly hit, falling by 2.2% in the eurozone and 1.7% in the EU15. Likewise, the intermediate goods sector shrank by 0.9% (eurozone) and 1.0% (EU15). Non durable consumer goods fell by 0.4% and 0.5% respectively. Only energy increased (+0.4% in both areas).