Output plummets in eurozone

Bloomberg

Production in the euro region plunged 21.6 percent from a year earlier, the most since the data series started in 1986, the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg said Friday. From March, output declined 1.9 percent.

The global economy will contract for the first time since World War II this year as the fallout from the crisis leads companies to scale back production and run down stocks, the World Bank predicts. The European Central Bank this month kept its benchmark interest rate at 1 percent and will soon buy bonds to improve credit flow.

Production of durable consumer goods such as washing machines in the 16-member euro region declined an annual 22.4 percent in April, and output of capital goods such as factory machinery dropped 26.7 percent. The euro’s 12 percent gain against the dollar since February is further hurting manufacturers’ prospects.