Eurozone industrial output spikes by 2.1 percent in January

People walk in the Porta Nuova business center in Milan, Italy, Friday, March 11, 2016. European Central Bank launched an unexpectedly broad array of stimulus measures Thursday aimed at boosting a modest economic recovery in the 19 countries that use the euro and nudging up dangerously low inflation. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno) People walk in the Porta Nuova business center in Milan, Italy, Friday, March 11, 2016. European Central Bank launched an unexpectedly broad array of stimulus measures Thursday aimed at boosting a modest economic recovery in the 19 countries that use the euro and nudging up dangerously low inflation. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

By Associated Press March 14, 2016 1 min read

BRUSSELS (AP) – Official figures show industrial production across the 19-country eurozone spiked by a monthly rate of 2.1 percent in January in a development that may ease some concerns about underlying economic conditions.

The bigger than anticipated increase followed two monthly declines, including a 0.5 percent drop in December. The consensus in the markets was for a more modest increase of 1.6 percent.

Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, was largely behind the gain, with a 2.9 percent spike in output during the month.

The figure reported Monday by Eurostat, the EU’s statistics agency, means that industrial output across the eurozone was 2.8 percent on a year-on-year basis, a big turnaround from the 0.1 percent fall recorded in December.