"We expect the ECB to cut interest rates in July. Draghi has left the door wide open"
- Tobias Blattner, an economist at Daiwa Capital Markets
French factory output contracted 0.7 per cent in April, said Paris-based statistics office Insee on Monday, adding to signs the economy is moving sideways.
"All the signs received so far point to a rapid deterioration in the economic outlook at the start of the second quarter," said Tobias Blattner, an economist at Daiwa Capital Markets in Europe.
"We expect the ECB to cut interest rates in July. Draghi has left the door wide open."
European stocks were little changed on Monday. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index declined 0.01 points to 241.92. Germany's DAX Index rose 0.17 per cent and France's CAC 40 Index gained 0.29 per cent.
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