Eurozone industry rebounds
EUROZONE industrial production rebounded in October, driven upwards by a resurgent Germany, official data revealed yesterday.
After a decline the previous month, production sprung back with a 0.7 per cent increase across the single currency area.
Compared to the same time in 2009, industry expanded by 6.9 per cent, according to the Eurostat office.
Yet growth was lower than expected by economists. And the Eurozone remains reliant on strong core economies, as the troubled periphery stalls recovery.
“The German industrial sector very much led the way for the Eurozone, markedly out performing most other countries,” said Howard Archer of IHS Global Insight.
Industrial production contracted in Greece (-4.6 per cent), Portugal (-2.8 per cent) and
Spain (-1.9 per cent) from the previous year.
Meanwhile, Ireland’s production fell by 4.8 per cent compared to September, as the crisis grew in the run up to last month’s €85bn (£72bn) bailout.
Germany recorded a 12.1 per cent increase on the previous year, and was boosted by another rise in business morale, as the ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment climbed 2.5 points on November.
The survey measures the expectations of investors, with more anticipating an improvement in business conditions (than those expecting a deterioration) over the next six months.
In neighbouring France, new inflation figures showed consumer prices rising by 0.1 per cent in November.
Year-on-year consumer price index (CPI) inflation stands at 1.6 per cent.
Eurozone inflation figures are expected tomorrow.