10.06.202112:11:00UTC+00France Industrial Production Falls Unexpectedly In April

France industrial output logged an unexpected fall in April, reports said citing data from the statistical office Insee on Thursday.

Industrial output dropped 0.1 percent in April from March, confounding expectations for an increase of 0.5 percent.

At the same time, manufacturing output was down 0.3 percent month-on-month in April. Purchasing Managers' survey data released by IHS Markit, earlier this month, showed that the manufacturing sector grew the most since September 2000 as the easing of the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions boosted output and new orders.

According to Markit, manufacturing output grew at the sharpest pace since January 2018.

Manufacturers were optimistic about the outlook as the firms expect ongoing rebound in activity to continue once the pandemic comes to an end.