European industrial output rose the most in more than two decades in January, but concerns remain about the sustainability of the region's economic recovery.
Industrial production rose 1.7% from December, the strongest rise since the statistical series began in 1990, the European Union statistics agency Eurostat reported. The January increase was the biggest since August 1989 and was more than double the 0.7% gain projected by economists.
From a year earlier, output rose 1.4%, the first annual increase since April 2008.
A survey of economists conducted last week had forecast a 0.7% monthly rise and a 1.3% annual fall.
But expectations for the figure had risen this week after stronger-than-expected national data from Italy and France.
The jump in January output was led by energy production, which increased 2.6% from the prior month, today’s report showed. Production of intermediate goods, such as steel and machinery parts, rose 1.4% in the month, while output of capital goods, such as factory machinery, fell 0.3%.