Industrial output in the euro area’s two largest economies unexpectedly contracted in November as supply constraints lingered, even before the coronavirus’s omicron variant hit the continent. France saw strong declines in transport materials and equipment, while energy output and construction weighed on Germany ’s production. For the latter, there’s “scope for an expansion to be recorded in December and the sector is likely to have made a meaningful contribution to economic growth in the fourth quarter,” according to Jamie Rush, chief European economist at Bloomberg Economics . Sign up for the New Economy Daily newsletter, follow us @economics and subscribe to our podcast .