Eurozone industrial output rises in January
(BRUSSELS) - Eurozone industrial production rose in January, according to official data released Monday which also showed a monthly increase in December instead of a previously estimated drop.
Output in the first month of the year was up 0.3 percent in the single currency area, which grew to 17 members in January when Estonia adopted the euro, Eurostat figures showed.
The statistics agency changed its December estimate, saying production rose by 0.2 percent on a month-to-month comparison instead of a previously estimated fall of 0.1 percent.
Sector-wide, production of intermediate goods and durable consumer goods each grew by 2.5 percent. Energy production retreated 3.1 percent, non-durable consumer goods dropped 0.4 percent and capital goods fell 0.3 percent.
Across the whole 27-nation European Union, which includes non-euro nations Britain and Poland, industrial output rose 0.6 percent increase in January after a 0.2 percent gain in December.
Among countries for which figures were available, the biggest increases were recorded in Malta with 6.0 percent, Estonia 4.2 percent and the Czech Republic, 3.5 percent.
The sharpest falls were reported in Portugal, down 4.2 percent, Finland fell 2.8 percent and Latvia dropped 2.4 percent.
Germany, Europe's top economy, posted a 0.1 percent increase in production while France, the number two economic power, saw a rise of 1.1 percent.
On an annual comparison, industrial production rose by 6.6 percent in the eurozone and 6.8 percent in the EU in January compared to the same month last year.