Industrial production across the 17-nation eurozone fell 0.7 per cent in June compared with May, prompting analysts to warn of a sharp deceleration ahead of eagerly-awaited growth figures due next week.

The seasonally adjusted measurement of output was still up 2.9 per cent compared to one year earlier, the European Union data agency said on Friday, but the monthly change was “weaker-than-expected”, according to Paris-based BNP Paribas analyst Clemente De Lucia.

“Output contracted among the largest economies of the area, with France and Germany recording significant falls over the month,” Mr De Lucia noted.

“Under these conditions, gross domestic product has probably decelerated significantly in the second quarter 2011.”

The EU will release its flash estimate for GDP between April and June tomorrow.

“Given the recent sharp fall in more timely measures of activity in the industrial sector and the wider economy, not to mention the recent market turmoil, we expect the underlying pace of growth to slow further in the second half of the year,” London-based analyst Ben May of Capital Economics said.

The figures showed that for the full, 27-state EU, which also includes non-euro Britain and eastern industrial powerhouse Poland, there was an even bigger monthly drop of 1.2 per cent and a much lower annual improvement of 1.7 per cent.