The European Union's statistics office Eurostat said industrial production in the 19 countries sharing the euro increased 1.5% month-on-month in August for a 2.5% year-on-year rise.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected much more modest increases of 0.6% on the month and 1.2% year-on-year, after production fell in July. Output of capital goods, such as machinery, rose 2.8% compared with July, in a sign of optimism pointing to new appetite for investment.Among the bloc's largest economies, France's industrial production rose 2.5% on the month, Italy's was up by 2.3%, whereas output declined in Germany by 0.5%.