European industrial production posted a surprise fall in June, data released Friday showed, adding to signs that the region's economy has slowed, according to dpa. The 0.7-per-cent drop in June output in the 17-member eurozone came after France's statistics office said the nation's economy stalled during the second quarter. Analysts had forecast that the eurozone's second biggest economy would expand by 0.3 per cent in the three months to the end of June after growing by 1 per cent in the first quarter. Both the French growth figures and the European Union's statistics office's production data are likely to raise fresh questions about the prospects of heavily indebted eurozone states balancing slowing growth with paying down high debt levels. Analysts had expected Friday's data would show output stagnating in June. The latest figures mean that industrial production grew by just 0.3 per cent during the second quarter. This is likely to pave the way for the release Tuesday of data showing growth losing its momentum in both Germany and the eurozone during the second quarter. Analysts are predicting the figures will show the eurozone grew by just 0.3 per cent, down from 0.8 per cent in the first quarter, and by 0.5 per cent in Germany. Europe's biggest economy grew by 1.5 per cent in the first three months of the year.
