BRUSSELS -- Offering some reassurance that a modest recovery remains on track after heavy falls in October, eEurozone industrial output rebounded sharply in November, official data showed on Tuesday.
Industrial output in the then 17-nation eurozone jumped 1.8% in November after a fall of 0.8% in October, the Eurostat statistics office said.
In the full 28-member European Union, industrial production gained 1.5% after dropping 0.5% in October, it said.
In November, the biggest monthly gain was in Ireland with 11.7% while economic powerhouse Germany was up 2.4% and struggling France rose 1.4%.
Compared with November 2012, industrial output rose by 3% in both the eurozone and the EU.
Industrial output figures can be volatile but after a second monthly fall in a row in October, analysts had voiced concern the single currency bloc's recovery appeared to be stalling.
The eurozone escaped a record 18-month recession in the second quarter with growth of 0.3%, only for this to slow to a marginal 0.1% in the third.
Analysts said Tuesday's report was positive overall. The figures "provide some hope that the economy might have regained a bit of momentum towards the end of last year," said Jonathan Loynes of Capital Economics.
November's was the biggest monthly gain since May 2010 while the 12-month rate of 3% was the highest for more than two years, Loynes said in a note.
"Barring a very sharp drop-back in production in December, industry is now likely to make a stronger contribution to GDP growth in the fourth quarter than it did in the third," he said.
On this basis, the fourth quarter "will probably beat the third's 0.1% expansion," he said but added that an uncertain outlook meant "it would be wrong to get carried away."
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2014
