Eurozone Factory Output and Inflation Inch Higher

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By Trey Thoelcke Published
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Eurostat, the European Union’s official statistics agency, said today that industrial production in the 17 eurozone countries was 0.6% higher in July than in June, but 2.3% lower than in July 2011. Economists had been expecting a rise in production of only 0.1%.

The rebound was driven by a 2.4% surge in the manufacture of capital goods, which included a 1.3% increase in German output. However, there was a decline of 0.5% in the production of durable consumer goods and a 0.6% decline in nondurable consumer goods, suggesting a rise in exports to developing economies despite weak domestic demand.

In separate reports:

  • Germany’s De Statis statistics agency said consumer prices rose by 0.4% from July and by 2.1% from August 2011.
  • Spain’s National Statistics Institute reported that consumer prices increased by 2.7% from August 2011 and by 2.2% over the rate of inflation recorded in July.
  • Insee, the French national statistics office said consumer prices in the eurozone’s second-largest economy grew by 2.1% in the 12 months to August.

All three agencies cited rising fuel prices as driving the advance in inflation.

Last month Eurostat estimated that the annual rate of inflation across the eurozone rose to 2.6% from 2.4% in July. Eurostat releases its final estimate on Friday.

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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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