ET:Eurozone official industrial output turns up in December
BRUSSELS: Industrial output in the 17-nation eurozone showed a sharp turnaround in December, gaining 0.7 per cent compared with activity in November when it fell a revised 0.7 per cent, official data showed on Wednesday.
This was the first month-on-month growth registered since August when output rose 0.8 per cent but analysts cautioned against reading too much into the data.
The increase "needs to be kept into perspective," said HowardBSE 3.13 % Archer of IHS Global Insight.
"The 0.7 per cent month-on-month expansion only reversed November's (upwardly revised) fall in production while output had also fallen sharply in October (by 1.0 per cent) and September (by 2.3 per cent)," Archer said.
For the full 27-member European Union, industrial output in December was up 0.5 per cent from November when it dropped 0.6 per cent, the Eurostat statistics agency said.
Compared with December 2011, industrial production in the eurozone fell 2.4 per cent while the EU dropped 2.3 per cent, both much better than in November if still in negative territory.
For 2012 as a whole, eurozone industrial output was off 2.4 per cent with the EU down 2.1 per cent.
Among the major economies, Germany rose 0.8 per cent in December compared with November, France and Spain were flat, and Britain put on 1.1 per cent.
The stand-out performer was Ireland which showed an increase in industrial output of 8.5 per cent in December after just 0.2 per cent in November although its figures have been volatile.
Archer said the figures overall suggested that the eurozone economy contracted 0.4 per cent in the three months to December compared with the third quarter last year.
"While it looks likely that Eurozone manufacturing activity turned the corner late in 2012, a return to growth in the first quarter of 2013 is far from guaranteed," he said.
ING BankBSE -0.28 % was more positive, saying the data "at least shows that the European manufacturing sector is benefitting from the gradually enfolding worldwide recovery.
ING noted, however, the importance of exports to future growth and highlighted concerns on that front stoked by recent gains in the euro amid talk of global currency wars following Japan's moves to talk down the yen.
