Eurozone industrial output misses target

New official data show that the eurozone’s industrial output dropped much more than expected in July as the recession-hit continent continues to grapple with economic problems.

According to figures published by the EU’s statistics office Eurostat on Thursday, industrial production in the 17 countries sharing the euro fell 1.5 percent in July.

France, Italy, Ireland, Portugal, the Netherlands and Germany all submitted poor performance marks from their factories. Germany, Europe’s largest economy, said its industrial production fell 2.3 percent in July from June.

The drop in output at eurozone factories compared with a 0.1 percent increase expected by experts in a Reuters poll.

The agency also revised down its annual reading for June to -0.4 percent from an earlier forecast of a 0.3 percent gain.

Economists attributed the recent downturn to weak demand from European households and harsh spending cuts initiated throughout EU member states.

Europe plunged into financial crisis in early 2008. Insolvency now threatens heavily debt-ridden countries such as Greece, Portugal, and Spain.

The worsening debt crisis has forced EU governments to adopt harsh austerity measures and tough economic reforms, which have triggered incidents of social unrest and massive protests in many European countries.