Eurozone Industrial Output Climbed More Than Expected in August

Total production rose 0.6% on month in August, according to figures published Friday by European Union statistics agency Eurostat, recovering partly from the 1.3% decline recorded in July. It also was an improvement on expectations of economists polled by The Wall Street Journal, who predicted output to be flat on month.

The data adds to evidence that manufacturing woes in the 20-nation bloc might have bottomed out, after months of sluggish performance and declining output. Compared with the same month a year ago, August production was 5.1% lower, a sharper fall than the 3.6% decrease predicted by economists.

Survey data from the eurozone’s purchasing manufacturers showed improving sentiment in August, after registering its weakest reading in more than three years in July.

Inflation in the bloc is also steadily declining, falling to 4.3% in September, and the European Central Bank signaled that interest-rate hikes could have peaked at its most recent meeting, reflecting that pressures on investment could start to ease, despite a still uncertain economic climate.

The improvement in August’s industrial output was driven by the production of durable consumer goods, which grew by 1.2% on month, with output increases in nondurable consumer goods of 0.5% and capital goods of 0.3%, though in intermediate goods, output ticked down by 0.3%. Production of energy also dropped by 0.9% on month, the data said.

Among larger eurozone nations, output ticked up slightly in Germany, by 0.1%, in Italy it grew 0.2%, while it fell 0.2% and 0.7% in France and Spain, respectively, according to Eurostat’s measures. Ireland again had a skewed reading, with production growing 6.1% in August compared with a decline of 9% in July, although the country’s statistics office is conducting a review of its methodology going forward.

Write to Ed Frankl at [email protected]