Investing.com - Industrial production in the euro zone fell unexpectedly in January, fuelling concerns over the outlook for economic growth in the single currency bloc, official data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, Eurostat, the European statistics agency said industrial production declined by a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in January, disappointing expectations for a gain of 0.5%. Industrial production in December was revised to a 0.4% drop, from a previously reported fall of 0.7%.
Year-on-year, industrial production increased at an annualized rate of 2.1% in January from a year earlier, above expectations for a 1.9% gain and after rising at a rate of 1.2% in the preceding month.
Following the release of that data, the euro was little changed against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD easing down 0.01% to trade at 1.3859.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were sharply lower. The EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.9%, France’s CAC 40 tumbled 1.1%, Germany's DAX dropped 1.1%, while London’s FTSE 100 lost 0.85%.