BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone industrial production rose by slightly more than expected in August on a monthly basis, fully recovering from a fall in July, figures released by the European Union statistics office showed on Wednesday.
Eurostat said industrial production in the 19-member single currency bloc in August increased by 1.6 percent during the month and by 1.8 percent year-on-year.
The readings were above the average forecasts of a 1.5 percent monthly increase and a 1.1 percent year-on-year improvement in a Reuters poll of economists.
Euro zone output therefore offset a revised 0.7 percent fall in July and continued a six-month pattern in which declines in one month are followed by increases the following month.
The monthly increase of production in August was broadly spread, except for non-durable consumer goods, such as clothes, for which output was down 0.6 percent.
The strongest increase was of 4.3 percent in the month for durable consumer goods, such as cars or fridges, followed by capital goods, such as machinery, which rose 3.5 percent.
Energy production was up 3.3 percent and output of intermediate goods was 1.4 percent higher.