Euro Area Industrial Production Slips 1.8% In March

Euro area industrial production declined 1.8% in March from the previous month, the EU statistical office reported on Friday.

The market expectation for the figure was to contract 2%, following an increase of 0.5% in February.

In the EU, industrial production decreased 1.2% in March, after rising 0.6% in February, according to Eurostat figures.

On an annual basis, industrial production fell 0.8% in the euro area, but rose 0.7% in the EU.

The largest annual declines in industrial output were seen in Slovakia (7.3%) and Ireland (5.5%).

The highest annual increases were registered in Lithuania and Bulgaria . -