Euro Zone Began Second Half of 2023 With Slump in Factory Output

  • Industrial malaise continued in July, putting onus on services
  • Drop erases all factory gains seen in second quarter

More factory weakness might raise the prospect of the region as a whole suffering another contraction.

Photographer: Akos Stiller/Bloomberg
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The euro area began the second half of the year with a monthly slump in industrial production, adding to signs that manufacturing will keep weighing on economic growth.

Output fell 1.1% in July, exceeding the 0.9% drop that forecasters had estimated in a Bloomberg survey. The drop from a month earlier erased all gains made throughout the second quarter.