Industrial production in Portugal rose 8% in August from the July figure, the highest increase in Europe, according to Eurostat.
In the eurozone, production increased an average of 1% but Portugal’s 8% led the way, followed by Malta and the Czech Republic with increases of 7.2% and 4.7%.
Laggards in negative territory included Estonia at -3.5 % and Sweden with -2.8%.
Thankfully these figures exclude the construction sector where Portugal’s performance is appalling as companies close and workers join the dole queues in increasing numbers.
Overall output in the eurozone grew at its strongest rate for more than two years in August. Europe's economic powerhouse, Germany, saw output rise 1.8%, while France increased its output by 0.2 % following three consecutive months of decline.
Chris Williamson, chief economist at the researcher organisation 'Markit', said the figures were encouraging while there was still concerns over the strength of the eurozone’s recovery and earlier this month the European Central Bank's president Mario Draghi said that the economic recovery in the eurozone remained "weak , fragile, and uneven."
