French Industrial Output Falls

French industrial production fell by 0.5% in November from October, in line with expectations, as a drop in production in the chemicals and pharmaceutical sectors weighed on the overall reading, according to data from the INSEE national statistics agency on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The drop in the November industrial production level was in line with the average forecasts from a Reuters poll of 21 economists. Industrial production had risen in the previous month, advancing by 1.7% in October. That reading was revised from the 1.9% increase originally reported. Production fell by 4% month-on-month in the chemicals sector in November and by 2.3% in the pharmaceuticals industry, INSEE added. INSEE also said that manufacturing output fell by 1% in November from October. Meanwhile, the French private sector unexpectedly kept up a galloping rate of expansion in December, capping a year that has seen it turn from one of the eurozone’s laggards to one of its strongest performers.