Eurozone industrial production bounces higher in April

BRUSSELS, June 12 (AFP): Industrial production in the eurozone rebounded by 0.8 per cent in April, official Eurostat data showed, after a 0.4 per cent drop in March, with a notable pick up for energy and non-durable consumer goods.

Particularly encouraging was a rise in industrial production in Italy and Spain where drops a month earlier had raised alarms that a fragile recovery might be faltering.

"April's rise in eurozone industrial production suggests that industry is strengthening after a weak start to the year," said James Howat of Capital Economics.

Industrial production in France remained flat however, up only 0.1 per cent month-to-month, and "probably remains the eurozone's biggest problem," said Carsten Brzeski of ING bank.

On a yearly basis, French production fell 1.8 per cent, far off the 1.4 per cent growth eurozone-wide and 1.7 per cent in powerhouse Germany.

Howat said recent surveys of industrial activity "suggest that eurozone production might pick up a little further" in the second quarter as a whole.