By Joshua Kirby
Output from French industry climbed again in December, offering a little cheer amid sluggish activity in the wider euro area.
Total industrial production rose 1.1% from a month earlier, data from statistics body Insee showed Friday. This was notably higher than the 0.1% increase expected by economists, according to a poll compiled by The Wall Street Journal, though Insee cautioned that unusual working-day totals for December, relating to school holidays and not accounted for by standard seasonal-variation calculations, affected the monthly development of output in certain sectors.
"As such, December's rise in output may be overestimated in the seasonally-adjusted figures," the agency said.
The increase nevertheless adds to a 0.5% rise the previous month, suggesting production for the fourth quarter as a whole could be better than expected. By segment, construction booked the sharpest monthly rise at 3.0%, while transportation and the food industry also grew. Production of capital goods and the refining sector meanwhile fell back from a month earlier.
In the eurozone as a whole, production contracted for a third straight month in November, according to figures set out last month. Sentiment has nevertheless been improving, according to survey data, fuelling hopes that a recovery in industry could support a rebound in a listless eurozone economy at the start of the year.
Write to Joshua Kirby at joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby
