BRUSSELS, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Euro zone industrial output fell more than expected in October in a sign the recession is becoming more pronounced in the last quarter of 2008.
Industrial output in the 15 countries using the euro fell 1.2 percent on the month for a 5.3 percent annual drop, European Union statistics office Eurostat said on Friday.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected a 1.0 percent monthly fall and a 3.6 percent year-on-year decline.
Eurostat also revised its September output data to a 1.8 percent monthly contraction from the previously reported 1.6 percent drop and a 2.7 percent year-on-year fall from 2.4 percent.
The data showed industrial production was pulled down by plunging output of consumer and intermediate goods.
The data is in line with the steep drop in investment that helped drag the euro zone into its first ever recession in the second and third quarters and falling consumer confidence as concerns about jobs rise among households.
The data is likely to add to arguments that the European Central Bank should keep cutting interest rates to help revive the economy as inflation slows quickly and prices could even be falling for a number of months in the middle of 2009. (Reporting by Jan Strupczewski, editing by Dale Hudson)