consumer goods

Production declined most strongly in longer-lasting products—durable consumer goods and capital goods, Eurostat said.

Most finished consumer goods, such as laptops and smartphones, will likely fall short of the threshold, said research firm Capital Economics, but intermediate goods such as motors may exceed it.

But that would mean prices of consumer goods could go up, adding to concern about inflation.

DBS projects headline CPI to fall 0.2% on year and core CPI to rise slightly, supported by firmer prices in industrial consumer goods.

The U.S. needs China to supply both cheap consumer goods and recycle its trade surplus into the Treasury market, which helps keep in check everything from government borrowing to mortgage costs.