Eurozone output slumps more than forecast in July

Industrial production in the eurozone slumped more than forecast in July, raising fresh doubts about the strength of the 17-member currency bloc's recovery from a protracted recession, data released Thursday showed, according to DPA. Output in the region contracted by 1.5 per cent in July after rising by 0.6 per cent in June, the European Union statistics office Eurostat said. Analysts had forecast a drop of 0.3 per cent. "July's large fall in euro-zone industrial production puts a dent in hopes of a further pick-up in economic growth in the third quarter," said Ben May, European economist with the Capital Economics research group. The eurozone emerged from an 18-month long recession in the three months to the end of June to post a quarter-on-quarter growth rate of 0.3 per cent.