Industrial production rose by 0.1 percent in both the eurozone and the 28 member countries of the EU (EU-28) in April, Eurostat reported Friday. This was a sharp improvement from March when industrial production decreased by 0.4 percent in the eurozone and 0.1 percent in the EU-28, the report said. Industrial output also increased by 0.8 percent year-on-year in the eurozone and by 1.2 percent in the EU-28 from April 2014.

In the euro area, production of durable consumer goods rose by 1 percent, capital goods increased by 0.7 percent and intermediate goods increased by 0.3 percent. However, production of nondurable consumer goods fell by 0.8 percent and energy production fell by 1.6 percent. In the EU-28, the 0.1 percent increase is due to production of capital goods rising by 0.6 percent and durable consumer goods by 0.5 percent, while intermediate goods were stable. Energy fell by 0.4 percent and nondurable consumer goods by 1.2 percent. Analysts at Societe Generale bank said that they expected production to continue to increase this year. In a note published on June 8, Societe Generale analysts said: "We expect exports to start responding to the euro's weakness in the second half of 2015, although the contribution of net exports to [gross domestic product (GDP)] growth looks set to remain muted compared to past recoveries. Domestic demand will continue gaining traction, with higher production of consumer and capital goods helped by the various exogenous factors affecting the region [such as] commodity prices [and] low interest rates."