Euro zone production stronger than expected in July

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone industrial production was stronger than expected in July, data showed on Wednesday, thanks to rising output of capital and non-durable consumer goods.

The European Union's statistics office Eurostat said industrial output in the 19 countries sharing the euro rose 1.5% month-on-month in July for a 7.7% year-on-year rise.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected a 0.6% monthly and a 6.3% annual rise.

Eurostat said capital goods output jumped 2.7% month-on-month in July after a 1.1% drop in June, for a 5.9% increase against the same period in 2020. Non-durable consumer goods production was up 3.5% on a monthly basis and 10.1% annually.

Compared to last year, output of intermediate goods also rose by a strong 11.2% and of durable consumer goods by 9.8%.

The stronger data for the start of the third quarter comes after the euro zone economy grew 2.2% in the second quarter, as the easing of coronavirus restrictions spurred a rebound from a brief recession.

(Reporting by Jan Strupczewski; editing by Philip Blenkinsop)