Industrial production in the eurozone rose sharply in May, but survey data indicate that the improvement will be short-lived.
Official Eurostat data showed industrial production surging 0.9% in May, rebounding after declines in the prior two months. The narrower definition of manufacturing output showed a similar 0.9% rise, likewise recovering from falls in March and April.
The better data raise the question of whether the region is now set for a strengthening of production growth, or whether the May improvement represents a false dawn. Given the recent ongoing weakness of the PMI survey data for