17
Mar
Eurozone industrial production grows strongly
Industrial production in the 16 countries that use the euro
increased by much more than expected in January.
The 1.7% growth between December and January was the largest
monthly jump since Eurostat started producing the data in 1990.
The increase fuels hopes that the eurozone economy's recovery
from recession is gathering pace.
Production of durable consumer goods, which includes items like
cars, furniture and appliances, rose by 2%.
Factory output in January 2010 compared with January 2009 was
1.4% higher, which is the first year-on-year gain since April
2008.
December's industrial performance was also revised up
substantially to show a gain of 0.6% from November rather than a
drop of 1.7%.
The eurozone economy grew by 0.1% in the last three months of
2010, but some economists hope this figure will be revised up.
The European Commission's latest forecast suggests the eurozone
economy will expand by 0.7% during 2010 after contracting by 4% in
2009.
"Given that the business surveys point to a further improvement
in the industrial sector in the near term, a sharper quarterly rise
[in economic growth] is certainly possible" said Ben May from
Capital Economics.
"While all this is pretty encouraging, the euro's strength and
the likely slowdown in the global recovery will weigh on the
[industrial] sector later in the year."
source: www.bbc.co.uk/news Tuesday
16th March 2010