Euro-Region Industrial Output Drops as Slump Persists: Economy

Euro-area industrial output fell more than economists forecast in January, adding to signs that the region’s recession extended into the first quarter.

Factory production in the 17-nation euro zone dropped 0.4 percent from December, when it rose a revised 0.9 percent, the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg said today. The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 32 economists was for a 0.1 percent decline. Production fell 1.3 percent in January from a year earlier.