French Industrial Output Falls For Second Month

(RTTNews) - France's industrial production declined unexpectedly in August, data from the statistical office INSEE showed on Friday.

Industrial output fell 0.7 percent on a monthly basis in August, following a revised 0.1 percent decrease in July. Output was forecast to grow 0.3 percent.

Manufacturing output shrank 1.6 percent, faster than the 0.5 percent fall in the previous month.

The further downturn in manufacturing output was driven primarily by a 4.7 percent decline in the production of coked and refined petroleum products, followed by a 4.5 percent fall in the manufacture of transport equipment.

Output dropped 0.6 percent in mining and quarrying, energy, and water supply. Meanwhile, construction output logged a monthly growth of 1.2 percent, following a 0.6 percent rise in the previous month.