Eurozone Posts Encouraging Industrial Output Data

The euro was steady at $1.3569 at 7:45 GMT on Friday morning after stronger than expected economic data helped lift expectations about the region’s GDP growth in the second quarter.

The common currency has been under pressure recently as the region’s financials have indicated that growth across the bloc has been wobbly.

Reuters reported that eurozone industrial output increased by 0.8 percent in April after falling 0.4 percent in March. The figure doubled analysts’ expectations of a 0.4 percent rise and added to growing expectations that the bloc improved in the second quarter after a difficult first quarter.

From January to March the eurozone economy grew by just 0.2 percent, dragged down by poor performances in France, Italy and the Netherlands.

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In the second quarter, most are expecting to see a marked improvement as the bloc’s recovery evens out, with growth estimates around 0.4 percent.

Individual industrial production data for member countries showed that improvement was constant across the region. Portugal posted a record high 6.7 percent increase, while Spain’s monthly production increased at its fastest kip since August 2012.

However, German figures were lack luster with just 0.2 percent growth, proving that the region’s overall improvement wasn’t carried by the bloc’s largest economy as per usual.

The nation’s 0.2 percent increase was largely attributed to the Germany’s unusually mild winter.

Finland and Malta were the only two eurozone members to post declining production figures for April, while both France and Italy returned to expansion in April after falling in March.