Industry growth in Eurozone
INDUSTRIAL production rose across the Eurozone in November, it was announced yesterday, on a day of good economic data for the single currency area.
Production increased by 1.2 per cent on the previous month, a far greater jump than had been expected by economists.
The annual rate of production growth rose from 7.1 per cent to 7.4 per cent, as the euro area looks to recover.
“The industrial sector will have made a decent contribution to Eurozone GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2010,” said Howard Archer of IHS Global Insight.
In France, industrial production jumped 2.3 per cent after strike action affected October’s results.
Meanwhile, there were also monthly gains in Italy (1.1 per cent) and Spain (1.2 per cent).
Germany experienced a surprise fall, dropping 0.7 per cent on the previous month, although 11.4 per cent year on year.
And the outlook for the German economy remains extremely positive as official figures showed a 3.6 per cent uptick in GDP growth for 2010.
The boom represents the sharpest annual growth rate since German reunification.
The rapid recovery follows the previous year’s slump, when the German economy contracted by 4.7 per cent.
And the upturn may have been even sharper if not for harsh winter conditions towards the end of the year. Growth in the fourth quarter probably slowed to around 0.6 per cent, compared to the third quarter, according to ING’s Carsten Brzeski.