Eurozone industrial production stagnated in June, ending a four-month streak of monthly gains, according to official data released Thursday by Eurostat. The flat reading defied economists' expectations for a 0.8 percent decline compared with the previous year.
The stagnation masked divergent trends across sectors. Non-durable consumer goods production surged 3.0 percent on a monthly basis, and energy output climbed 1.5 percent. Those gains were offset by a 1.4 percent drop in capital goods such as machinery and vehicles, and a 0.8 percent decline in intermediate goods.
Across the broader European Union, industrial output rose 0.2 percent month-on-month and 0.6 percent year-on-year. Among member states, Croatia posted the sharpest monthly increase at 5.2 percent, while Luxembourg, Portugal, and Estonia recorded the steepest declines. May's eurozone figure was revised to a 0.3 percent monthly gain.