Eurozone industrial production ticks higher

Industrial production across the Eurozone nudged higher in May, official data showed on Thursday.

According to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, industrial production rose by 0.2% on April, when it increased by 1.0%.

It is the second rise in a row since March’s 4.1% plunge, although analysts had forecast a marginally bigger increase, at 0.3%.

Across the wider EU, production rose by 0.1% in May, compared to a 0.6% increase in April.

Among individual countries, industrial production fell by 0.2% in Germany - the bloc’s biggest economy - following a 0.2% increase in April.

In Spain it rose 0.7%, only partially reversing April’s 1.8% decline, while in France it jumped 1.3% and by 1.6% in Italy.

Year-on-year, industrial production fell by 2.2% in the Eurozone and by 1.8% in the wider bloc.

Bert Colijn, senior economist, Eurozone, at ING, said: "Overall, this leaves the level of activity well below the average for where it was in 2022, in line with a weakening global growth environment, in which demand for goods has moderated.

"For the months ahead, weakness continues to be on the cards as surveys point to a drying up of a backlogged orders and new orders are weakening. Global demand is going through a weak patch, and that is reflected by a subdued outlook for the manufacturing sector."

Claus Vistesen, chief Eurozone economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: "Momentum in Eurozone manufacturing slowed midway through the second quarter, after a volatile few months, due to wild swings in production of capital goods.

"The outlook for production in the second quarter is poor, mainly due to the plunge in output in March, which has eroded the carry-over for the second quarter."