Euro Area’s industrial output shrinks more than expected

Industrial production in the Euro Area was reported to have contracted 0.7% in October compared to September, or at a much sharper rate than expected.

That followed a revised up 1% drop in September.

In October, output contracted for capital goods, by 1.4%, followed by 0.6% decreases in both intermediate and non-durable consumer goods output.

On the other hand, energy production in the bloc increased 1.1% in October following two months of contraction.

Also, production of durable consumer goods rose 0.2% month-over-month.

In annual terms, industrial output shrank 6.6% in October, which marked the 8th successive month of decline.

The Euro was little changed on the day against the US Dollar, with the EUR/USD currency pair last trading at 1.0786 ahead of major central bank policy meetings.

Both the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank are expected to keep interest rates intact at multi-year highs, but market players will be also looking for clues over when borrowing costs may begin to fall.