Euro Area’s May industrial output shrinks less than expected

Industrial production in the Euro Area was reported to have shrunk 0.6% month-over-month in May, following a flat reading in April.

In comparison, market consensus had pointed to a 1% contraction.

In May, output dropped for intermediate goods (-1% versus -0.3% in April), capital goods (-1.2% versus a 0.7% rise in April) and durable consumer goods (-1.8% versus a 0.4% increase in April).

On the other hand, energy production in the bloc rebounded 0.8% in May after a 0.2% drop in the prior month.

And, production continued to surge for non-durable consumer goods, by 1.6% in May.

In annual terms, industrial output contracted 2.9% in May, following a revised up 3.1% drop in April.

The Euro was last little changed on the day against the US Dollar, with the EUR/USD currency pair trading at 1.0909.

The major Forex pair was holding in proximity to a fresh 17-week high of 1.0920.