Eurozone industrial production grows more than expected

(Sharecast News) - Industrial production across the eurozone rebounded in February after two months of declines, though the output of powerhouses Germany and France both weakened. Seasonally adjusted industrial production increased by 0.4% in the single-currency region in February, following a 0.8% drop in January and a 0.6% fall in December.

This was ahead of the consensus forecast for a gain of 0.3%, though production was still 0.6% down on last year.

Compared with the month before, production of intermediate goods was 0.5% higher, while capital goods production rose 1.0% and non-durable consumer goods production jumped 2.6%.

That was partially offset by a 2.1% slump in energy production and a 1.3% fall in the production of durable consumer goods.

Comparing national data, the highest monthly increases were recorded in Ireland (+5.7%) and Finland (+3.3%), while the largest decreases were observed in Malta (-6.0%), Luxembourg (-4.6%) and Greece (-2.1%).

The eurozone's two largest economies, however, saw a renewed downturn over the month, with German industrial production down 0.1% after growing 0.5% in January, and French output dropping 0.8% after a 0.2% increase previously.