Euro zone factory output fell more than expected in September from August as production in all but the energy sector fell.
But output was still higher than the same time last year, in a sign that the recovery was fragile but still there.
Industrial production in the euro zone dropped 0.5% on the month, following a 1.0% rise in August, data from the EU's statistics office Eurostat showed today.
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a 0.3% fall.
But the output in year-on-year terms rose 1.1% in September after an upwardly revised 1.1% fall in August, showing its strongest jump in two years, although from a low base, because in September 2012 it fell 2.7%.
Production of durable consumer goods, such as cars and electronics, was down by 2.6% on the month in September, while the highly volatile energy output rose by 1.3% after a 0.6% drop in August, data showed.
Production in Europe's two biggest economies, Germany and France, fell in September, while Italy returned to growth after two months of consecutive declines and Spain's output grew for a third month in a row.
Germany, France, and Italy account for two-thirds of the euro zone's industrial output.
The worst reading from among all euro zone countries was in Portugal, where production plummeted 11.2% on the month after a 8.0% increase in August. The €9.5 trillion economy crawled out of a 18-month-long recession in the second quarter with a 0.3% quarterly rise in GDP and economists expect it will continue to expand in the third quarter, on which data is due tomorrow.
