According to the report from the Eurostat, in October, eurozone industrial production fell by 0.7%, slowing compared to September (-1%, revised from -1.1%). Economists had expected production to decline by 0.3%. In annual terms, industrial production fell by 6.6% after declining by 6.8% in September (revised from -6.9%). It was the eighth consecutive monthly decline. Consensus estimates suggested a drop by 4.5%. Meanwhile, among the countries of the European Union, industrial production fell by 0.5% on a monthly basis and by 5.5% per annum.
Eurostat reported that the monthly change in the eurozone was caused by a drop in production of capital goods fell by 1.4%, intermediate goods and non-durable consumer goods both by 0.6%, while production of durable consumer goods grew by 0.2% and energy by 1.1%.
Meanwhile, the decline in industrial production in the eurozone compared to October 2022 was caused by a drop in production of capital goods (-9.7%), non-durable consumer goods (-7.8%), durable consumer goods (-6.2%), intermediate goods (-4.1%) and energy (-0.5%).
As for the EU countries, the largest annual decreases were registered in Ireland (-34.0%), Estonia (-12.2%) and the Netherlands (-11.1%). The highest increases were observed in Greece (+10.8%), Denmark (+6.9%) and Slovakia (+4.4%).
Overall, the latest data point to gloomy economic prospects. The eurozone economy contracted by 0.1% in the 3rd quarter and expectations are that it will decline again at the end of 2023, confirming a recession. Surveys of PMI have pointed to declines in business activity in October and November.