Just released statistics show industrial output in the eurozone rose by more than expected in November as firms stepped up production before Christmas.<br /><br /> It was the second month in a row that it had increased.<br /><br /> The fact that industries cranked up production points to an economic spurt that may be arriving earlier than some European Central Bank policymakers had expected.<br /><br /> Output in the 19 countries using the euro surged 1.5 percent in November from the previous month, and was up 3.2 percent year-on-year according to the European Union’s statistics agency.<br /><br /> October’s output was also raised to 0.1 percent from a previously estimated 0.1 percent decline. <br /><br /> Euro area industrial production +1.5% in November 16 over October 16, +3.2% over November 15 #Eurostat https://t.co/NVz8Rzk1Hh pic.twitter.com/cXvIN3YXTa— EU_Eurostat (@EU_Eurostat) January 12, 2017<br /><br /> Among the four largest economies, France saw the strongest pickup in November – up 2.2 percent month-on month.<br /><br /> In Spain output rose 1.7 percent and there were more modest rises in Italy (0.7 percent) and Germany (0.3 percent).<br /><br /> Ireland had the biggest overall increase, with a jump of 16.3 percent compared with October.<br /><br /> There were decreases in both Greece and Portugal of 0.9 percent. <br /><br /> Economists said these figures added to the evidence that eurozone gross domestic product will have picked up in the last quarter of last year.<br /><br /> The unexpected increase in eurozone economic activity could lead to more calls for the European Central Bank to scale back its stimulus measures.<br /><br /> https://t.co/OKuQvlb2nf— David McHugh (@dgmchugh) January 12, 2017<br /><br /> For the 28 countries of the European Union, industrial production rose 1.6 percent month-on-month and 3.1 percent from November 2015.<br />
