Euro zone industrial production fell for the first time in six months in April, while the consensus was looking for another increase. Looking at the details, weakness was broad-based as production of capital goods (-0.9% M/M), non-durable consumer goods (0.7% M/M) and energy (0.7% M/M) dropped in April, while production of durable goods rose marginally (0.1% M/M) and production of intermediate goods stabilized. National data show that production rose in Germany (0.4% M/M), Italy (0.4% M/M) and Portugal (0.4% M/M), while weakness was based in Ireland (-1.0% M/M), Greece (-0.6% M/M), Spain (-1.0% M/M) and France (-0.9% M/M). The outcome is a bit disappointing, and indicates that in the first quarter, industrial production slowed down from the previous quarter, despite the improvement in the business confidence indicators. Nevertheless, we hope to see industrial production pick-up in the coming months.