Eurozone industrial production beats forecasts with 1.8% rise Industrial production in the eurozone expanded faster than expected in November, growing 1.8 per cent month on month adding to a string of more positive data on the currency bloc's economy. Eurostat, the European statistics office, also reported on Tuesday that industrial production in the whole of the EU grew by 1.5 per cent in November, after falling 0.5 per cent in October. The 1.8 per cent figure for the eurozone was the biggest rise since May 2010. Market consensus had been for 1.4 per cent growth in the eurozone's industrial output. The data add to growing signs that the recovery is gaining momentum, with retail sales also beating economists" expectations last week and business activity also improving. However, with unemployment still at record highs, economists are still cautious. The euro was little changed on the news, trading at $1.36. Martin van Vliet, of ING, said the rebound "adds to growing evidence that the eurozone recovery gathered momentum at the end of last year." "However, with production still more than 10 per cent below its pre-crisis peak there is still a long way to go before full recovery is achieved," he wrote in a research note. Moreover the ongoing margin of slack in the manufacturing sector suggests that the deflationary risks in (parts of) the region have not yet disappeared. Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank, last week remained cautious about the recovery in the eurozone saying it was too early to declare the crisis in the region over in spite of comments by José Manuel Barroso, European Commission president, who had said that the eurozone would put the crisis behind it in 2014. Evelyn Herrmann, of BNP Paribas, said the figures were "very good news for fourth quarter [eurozone] gross domestic product prospects" and that the risks to its 0.1 per cent forecast were now to the upside rather than the downside. "Looking further ahead, we see a strengthening in the eurozone growth momentum into Q1 2014, driven by manufacturing, but spilling over to the services sector," Ms Herrmann wrote, adding that BNP expects the eurozone economy to grow 0.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2014. Marco Valli, of UniCredit, said the data demonstrated that "the growth improvement in place since spring 2013 is starting to spill over to the labour market, which is finally stabilising and may soon show the first signs of moderate employment recovery." He wrote that expanding industrial production, "together with a further easing of the pace of fiscal tightening and very low inflation (without any material risk of deflation), [are] set to push average GDP growth to 1.5 per cent over the course of 2014." Production of capital goods grew 3 per cent in the eurozone, durable consumer goods 2.2 per cent and energy use rose by 1.8 per cent. October's figure was revised to an improved 0.8 per cent decline from a 1.1 per cent fall. The biggest increase was in Ireland, at 11.7 per cent, underscoring the country's economic turnround as it continues its recovery after exiting its bailout. Germany, the largest eurozone economy, recorded growth of 2.4 per cent while France, the second-largest economy, recorded 1.4 per cent growth, its strongest figure for more than six months. The data will come as welcome relief to President François Hollande as he prepares for a press conference later on Tuesday to explain his plans to revive France's sluggish economy.