Pandemic smashes EU's industrial production in April

The EU's industrial output went down sharply by 28% in April, when the novel coronavirus peaked in the continent, compared to the same month last year, the bloc's statistical office reported on Friday.

Eurostat said the figure was also down 27.2% in eurozone over the same period.

The eurozone/euro area or EA19 represents member states that use the single currency -- euro -- while the EU27 includes all member countries of the bloc.

"These are the largest annual falls recorded since the start of the series, exceeding the -21.3% in the euro area and -20.7% in the EU observed in April 2009.

"Overall, industrial production in the euro area and EU has fallen to levels last seen in the mid-1990s," Eurostat said.

In the EU, among main industrial groups, the production of durable consumer goods fell the most, down 45.4% year-on-year in April.

It was followed by capital goods (40.8%), intermediate goods (23.6%), non-durable consumer goods (12.5%) and energy (12.4%).

Among member states, the highest annual decreases were seen in Luxembourg (-43.9%), Italy(-42.5%) and Slovakia (-42%).

"The only increase was observed in Ireland (+5.5%)," Eurostat said.

Several sectors were hit by the measures taken to stem the spread of the virus, such as lockdowns and travel restrictions.