EU industrial output rises

BRUSSELS, Mar 14 (AFP): Eurozone industrial production rose in January, according to official data released Monday which also showed a monthly increase in December instead of a previously estimated drop. Output in the first month of the year was up 0.3 per cent in the single currency area, which grew to 17 members in January when Estonia adopted the euro, Eurostat figures showed. The statistics agency changed its December estimate, saying production rose by 0.2 per cent on a month-to-month comparison instead of a previously estimated fall of 0.1 per cent. Sector-wide, production of intermediate goods and durable consumer goods each grew by 2.5 per cent. Energy production retreated 3.1 per cent, non-durable consumer goods dropped 0.4 per cent and capital goods fell 0.3 per cent. Across the whole 27-nation European Union, which includes non-euro nations Britain and Poland, industrial output rose 0.6 per cent increase in January after a 0.2 per cent gain in December.