Factories and refineries in the euro zone ramped up production faster than expected in April, according to official EU data today.
Industrial output in the euro zone rose 0.9% in April from March and 3.9% over the same month in 2007, the European Union's Eurostat data agency said.
The figures, which were adjusted for seasonal variations, beat economists expectations for growth of only 0.1% over one month and 2.9% over one year.
They also marked a bounce back from a weak showing in March, when output eased 0.5% over one month and grew only 1.5 % over one year, according to revised figures from Eurostat.
The April improvement was driven mostly by faster output of capital goods used to make other goods and durable consumer goods such as appliances.
At the country level, firm output in France, Italy and Spain offset weakness in regional heavyweight Germany. In the 27-nation EU as a whole, industrial output rose 0.3% over one month in April and increased 3.7% over one year.
