Euro-Zone March industrial production dropped 2.0% m/m, with February revised down to -2.5% m/m from -2.3% m/m reported initially. The monthly decline was much weaker than our median of -1.2% m/m and brought the annual rate down to a record low of -20.2% y/y, after -19.1% y/y in the previous month. The March number meant production contracted a staggering 7.9% q/q in Q1, after falling 6.5% q/q in Q4 last year, which confirms that the pace of economic contraction accelerated at the start of the year, as world demand tumbled, investment broke off and consumption was hit by rising unemployment. There are first tentative signs of improvement in survey indicators, but today’s number highlights that the recession is far from over. The breakdown shows declines in the production of all product groups, but the pace of contraction in capital goods is at least slowing down.