Monthly rebound for eurozone industry

Eurozone industrial production rebounded in April on a monthly basis after two consecutive falls, rising more than expected mostly because of a surge in the output of durable consumer goods, such as cars, the EU’s statistics office said yesterday.

Industrial production in the 19-member single currency bloc was 1.1% higher in April than in March, above the forecast in a Reuters poll of economists of a 0.8% rise.

The figure sends a message of confidence about the euro economy and inverts the negative trend started in February when output decreased by 1.2% and continued in March which recorded a slightly upwardly revised 0.7% drop in industrial production from a previous estimate of -0.8%.

Year-on-year, eurozone industrial output rose in April by 2%, also in this case significantly more than market estimates of a 1.4% increase, and much more than the 0.2% growth recorded the previous month.

The two largest economies of the euro zone saw a rebound in their April monthly output after two months of fall, with production in Germany growing by 1.1% and in France by 1.2%.

Italian industrial production increased 0.5%, after having being flat in March.