Eurozone industrial production up 0.8 per cent in April: EU

BRUSSELS: Eurozone industrial production grew by 0.8 per cent in April from the March level, the European Union said on Monday, highlighting a 9.5-per cent rise on a 12-month comparison.

The EU's data agency said the seasonally-adjusted figures showed a 0.5-per cent monthly rise for the full 27-nation EU, which also includes non-eurozone giants Britain and eastern industrial powerhouse Poland, and a 7.8-per cent rise on a 12-month basis.

March's output had risen by 1.3 per cent across the 16 countries that share the euro currency, and by 1.2 per cent throughout the euro.

"The manufacturing sector has been the leading light of the eurozone economy so far in 2010, benefiting from improved domestic and, especially, export demand as well as inventory rebuilding," said London-based IHS Insight analyst Howard Archer.

He said that the 12-month eurozone increase of 9.5 per cent was a record leap, but noted that with the monthly rate of growth slowing, "there are hints that the sector's upturn may just be starting to flag."