Eurozone April industry output rebounds in good sign for overall growth

[BRUSSELS] 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 European Union statistics office said on Tuesday.

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

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

Year-on-year, eurozone industrial output rose in April by 2.0 per cent, also in this case significantly more than market estimates of a 1.4 per cent increase, and much more than the 0.2 per cent growth recorded the previous month.

Eurozone April monthly output increased mostly because of the output of consumer durable goods, such as cars and fridges, which rose 2.3 per cent after a 0.8 per cent drop the previous month.

All other sectors recorded increases in production. Output of capital goods, such as machinery, went up by 1.9 per cent, and production of non-durable consumer goods increased 1.6 per cent.

Output of energy products increased 0.3 per cent and production of intermediate goods rose 0.4 per cent.

The two largest economies of the eurozone saw a rebound in their April monthly output after two months of fall, with production in Germany growing by 1.1 per cent, and in France by 1.2 per cent. Italian industrial production increased 0.5 per cent, after having being flat in March.

REUTERS