BRUSSELS, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Higher production of capital, intermediate and non-durable consumer goods drove euro zone industrial output in September to its fifth straight month of month-on-month gains, pointing to continued economic recovery.
Industrial production in the 16-country area rose 0.3 percent month-on-month, European Union statistics office Eurostat said. Year-on-year, output fell 12.9 percent.
Economists polled by Reuters had on average expected a 0.4 percent monthly increase and a 14.1 percent annual decline.
The monthly rise indicates that production contributed positively to third-quarter gross domestic product in the countries using the euro currency.
The European Commission expects third-quarter GDP to have risen 0.5 percent quarter-on-quarter, ending five quarters of contraction.
Eurostat publishes its first estimate of third-quarter GDP on Friday. Industrial production accounts for roughly 17 percent of gross domestic product in the euro zone.
Eurostat said output of capital goods in September rose 1.7 percent month-on-month, non-durable consumer goods gained 1.1 percent and intermediate goods added 0.6 percent.
The biggest drag on overall output came from a 6.0 percent month-on-month slump in the production of durable consumer goods and a 2.1 percent fall in energy output. (Reporting by Jan Strupczewski, editing by Dale Hudson)