French industrial output weakens

PARIS: French industrial output weakened in May, according to the INSEE official statistics body, with the figures coming in worse-than-forecast and adding to signs of a slowdown in the euro zone´s second-biggest economy.

The INSEE national statistics office said on Tuesday that May industrial production had declined by 0.2 percent from the previous month.

A Reuters poll of 24 analysts had forecast industrial production growth of 0.7 percent in May. Last month, INSEE forecast slower French economic growth for this year in the face of a stronger euro, higher oil prices and uncertainty about protectionism.