Eurozone industrial output makes weak gain in Oct.

[December 14, 2010]  LONDON (AP) -- Industrial production in the 16 countries that use the euro rose by around half the rate anticipated in the markets, official figures showed Tuesday.

The monthly 0.7 percent increase in October reported Tuesday by Eurostat, the EU's statistics office, was more or less half the 1.3 percent rate expected by economists.

The recovery in the eurozone economy this year has been largely due to strong growth in the industrial sector on the back of a rebound in global trade. Over the past year, industrial output in the eurozone has increased by 6.9 percent.

However, recent figures suggest that the recovery is stalling on the back of faltering global growth and continuing debt problems in Europe. October's increase just compensated for the equivalent monthly decline in September.

The 27-country EU, which also includes non-euro countries such as Britain and Sweden, fared even worse in October, growing by only 0.3 percent during the month for a 6.7 percent annual gain.

[Associated Press]

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