Euro zone industrial production rose in January, according to official data released today 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% in the euro zone, 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% on a month-to-month comparison instead of a previously estimated fall of 0.1%.
Sector-wide, production of intermediate goods and durable consumer goods each grew by 2.5%. Energy production retreated 3.1%, non-durable consumer goods dropped 0.4% and capital goods fell 0.3%.
Across the whole 27-nation European Union, which includes non-euro nations Britain and Poland, industrial output rose 0.6% increase in January after a 0.2% gain in December.
Among countries for which figures were available, the biggest increases were recorded in Malta with 6%, Estonia 4.2% and the Czech Republic, 3.5%. The sharpest falls were reported in Portugal, down 4.2%, Finland fell 2.8% and Latvia dropped 2.4%. Germany, Europe's top economy, posted a 0.1% increase in production while France, the number two economic power, saw a rise of 1.1%.
On an annual comparison, industrial production rose by 6.6% in the euro zone and 6.8% in the EU in January compared to the same month last year.
