Contraction in the industrial sector "adds to growing evidence that the euro-zone economy took a further turn for the worse in the second quarter"
- Martin van Vliet, an economist at ING Bank
Eurozone industrial production contracted for a second straight month in April, adding to signs the economic slump is deepening. Output declined 0.8 per cent from March, said the European Union's statistics office on Wednesday.
Industrial production report "adds to growing evidence that the euro- zone economy took a further turn for the worse in the second quarter," said Martin van Vliet, an economist at ING Bank in Amsterdam.
"With the fiscal squeeze in the euro zone unlikely to ease soon and the debt crisis intensifying, any upturn in euro-zone industrial activity later this year will likely be modest."
"In terms of policy implications, today's industrial production data clearly reinforce the need for a more expansionary macroeconomic policy in the euro zone," he added.
© Dukascopy Bank SA