Eurozone industrial output grew at a faster pace in February driven by the rebound in production of capital and non-durable consumer goods, data from Eurostat showed on Tuesday.
Industrial output climbed 1.1 percent month-on-month in February, which was faster than the 0.6 percent growth logged in January and also better than economists' forecast of 0.1 percent. Moreover, this was the second consecutive increase.
Among industrial grouping, production of capital goods grew 0.8 percent after remaining flat in January and non-durable consumer goods output moved up 2.8 percent, reversing a 2.4 percent fall.
Meanwhile, intermediate goods output grew only 0.3 percent, after a 1.4 percent gain in the previous month. At the same time, the decline in energy output slowed to 0.2 percent from 1.1 percent in January.
On a yearly basis, industrial production advanced unexpectedly by 1.2 percent, in contrast to the 0.5 percent decline a month ago. Output was forecast to contract 0.8 percent.
Industrial production in the EU27 expanded 1.0 percent month-on-month in February, taking the annual growth to 0.6 percent.
The highest monthly increases were seen in Ireland, Belgium and Luxembourg. Meanwhile, the largest decreases were observed in Croatia, Greece and Romania.