Eurozone industrial production slumps in June

Industrial production in Europe fell in June at the fastest rate since the start of the year, deepening fears economic growth will be hampered by the sovereign debt crisis.

Eurostat figure showed industrial output in the 17 countries that make up the eurozone fell 0.7% from May, the sharpest drop since December. The figure was 2.9% stronger than in June last year, which is the weakest annual rise since January last year, the Wall Street Journal reports. An annualised increase by 2.9% in June in the 17 euro-traders compares with 4.4% and 7.8% gains in May and February respectively. Industrial output dropped in 15 member states and surged in five, while it remained stable in UK. Hardest hit were wealthy economies such as Denmark, where production plu...