By Li Hongmei

Industrial output across the 17-country eurozone fell a monthly rate of 0.5 percent in September, official figures showed yesterday, a decline that has stoked speculation that economic growth across the region may have come to a standstill in the third quarter.

The fall reported by Eurostat, the European Union's statistics office, was slightly larger than expected and means the sector weighed on third-quarter growth. September's fall follows a 1 percent rise in August that only compensated for an equivalent decline in July.

"Overall, today's industrial production data underline that while the eurozone as a whole is returning to growth, the recovery will be very slow and halting," said Paul Hollingsworth, assistant economist at Capital Economics.

The decline during the month was due to falls in the Germany and France. There was better news in some of the countries in the so-called periphery. Spain posted its first annual growth rate in industrial output in two years.