The poor economic dataflow from Europe continued on Wednesday.
Industrial production in the euro area fell 2.5 percent in September, the most in more than three years. The worst performances came from Ireland and Portugal, which saw 12.6 percent and 12.0 percent declines in industrial output.
Meanwhile, crisis-stricken Greece saw its economy contract 7.2 percent in the third quarter from the previous year, worse than the second quarter's 6.3 percent contraction, while Portugal's economy shrank 0.8 percent in the third quarter from the previous quarter.
Data from the UK were mixed. The jobless rate dipped to 7.8 percent in the three months through September from 7.9 percent. However, the number of people claiming jobless benefit rose by 10,100 in October, the largest increase since September 2011, after a jobs boost from the Olympics faded.
Across the Atlantic, the US failed to provide the usual offset to the negative data from Europe. Retail sales fell 0.3 percent in October, partly due to the impact of superstorm Sandy.
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