EU-27 monthly industrial production increases further in April

Seasonally-adjusted industrial production in the European Union member states (EU-27) in April 2010 rose by 0.5 percent month on month, according to a report released by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities. In March, industrial production in the region had increased by 1.4 percent over February.
 
On the other hand, compared with April 2009, industrial production in the EU-27 in April this year improved by 7.8 percent. April was the fourth consecutive month in which a year-on-year increase was recorded.
 
In April this year, production of durable consumer goods in the EU-27 increased by 0.4 percent as compared to the previous month and was up 4.1 percent year on year, while production of intermediate goods grew by 2.7 percent in April compared to March and was up 14.1 percent over the same month of the previous year. In addition, production of energy in the EU-27 decreased by 0.2 percent month on month, while the year-on-year increase was five percent.
 
Among the member states for which data are available, in April industrial production rose in twelve member states and fell in nine other member states, compared to March. The highest month-on-month increases were registered in Lithuania with six percent, in Estonia with 2.4 percent and in Denmark with 2.2 percent; meanwhile, the most significant declines were observed in Ireland with 10.9 percent, in Portugal with 4.4 percent and in Greece with 3.4 percent.