Industrial Production In Euro Area Down 1.1%--Eurostat

The official statistics office of the EC–Eurostat– announced that industrial production in the Euro Area which is comprise of 17 nations, fell 1.1% from November to December. In the 27 nation EU, the figure was off .6%.

The data is a sign that the region’s economy is far from a recovery, and that certain nations continue to be deeply troubled, and probably well into a new recession.

The surpising drop was in Germany, the economic pillar of the region

Among the Member States for which data are available, industrial production fell in twelve and rose in eleven. The largest decreases were registered in Malta (-2.9%), Germany (-2.7%), Greece and Latvia (both -2.4%), and the highest increases in Denmark (+3.3%), Finland (+2.6%) and Ireland (+2.5%).

On an annual basis for the period which ended in December

Among the Member States for which data are available, industrial production fell in fifteen and rose in eight. The highest decreases were registered in Greece (-12.4%), Luxembourg (-9.6%) and Portugal (-8.9%), and the largest increases in Poland (+10.0%), the Czech Republic (+4.4%) and Latvia (+3.2%).

The data confirm just how horrible the economies of Greece and Portugal are