Germany leads the Eurozone manufacturers in prolonged summer slump
The Eurozone economy faded over the summer, as industrial production slipped and the single currency bloc is still fighting for growth.
Industrial production dropped by 1.1 per cent in August, worse than expectations and down from a 0.8 per cent jump in July. Output in Germany, whose car makers started their summer shutdown a little earlier than usual, dropped by 1.9 per cent.
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"The figures clearly don't bode well for GDP growth," said Stephen Brown, European economist at Capital Economics.
Howard Archer of IHS Global added: "A major concern … will be that increased uncertainty will cause businesses and consumers to become more cautious in their major spending decisions, thereby hitting demand for capital goods."
Growth in the Eurozone dropped from a rate of 0.6 per cent in the first quarter of the year to 0.3 per cent in the second three month period. The European Central Bank (ECB), however, has held off from unleashing further stimulus, despite most analysts expecting President Mario Draghi to announce an extension to its €80bn (£68bn) a month quantitative easing programme, which is due to end in March, before the end of the year.