Industrial production in April clawed back some of the ground it lost in March. A 1.0 percent monthly rise in output only reversed a portion of the previous period's shallower revised 3.8 percent drop but was at least marginally steeper than the market consensus. Annual growth improved from minus 1.4 percent to 2.0 percent but production was still at its second lowest level since July last year.

The monthly rebound was dominated by capital goods which, having plummeted fully 15.2 percent in March, jumped 14.7 percent. However, intermediates fell a further 1.0 percent, durable consumer goods 2.6 percent and consumer non-durables 3.0 percent. Energy was up 1.0 percent.

Regionally, France (0.8 percent) saw a decent gain but Germany (0.0 percent) only stalled and both Italy (minus 1.9 percent) and Spain (minus 1.8 percent) saw fresh declines.

The April update leaves Eurozone industrial production 1.1 percent below its average level in the first quarter. This means May/June will need to see additional gains if the sector is not to subtract again from GDP growth this quarter and business surveys are not optimistic. More generally, the region's ECDI now stands at minus 36 and the ECDI-P at minus 20. Both readings still point to significant underperformance by overall economic activity.

Production in April is expected to rise 0.9 percent after falling 4.1 percent in March, a decline that was much steeper than expected. Consensus for April's year-over-year rate is 0.7 percent growth.

Industrial production measures the physical output of factories, mines and utilities. The measure provided by Eurostat excludes the volatile construction subsector for which data are released a few days later.

Industrial production measures changes in the volume of output for the EMU's member states. The industrial production index provides a measure of the volume trend in value added at factor cost over a given reference period, excluding VAT and other similar deductible taxes. The preferred number is industrial production excluding construction. As with other EMU statistics, the data are provided by the national statistics offices to Eurostat (the European Union statistical agency) where it is combined to produce an overall output measure.

Investors want to keep their finger on the pulse of the economy because it usually dictates how various types of investments will perform. The stock market likes to see healthy economic growth because that translates to higher corporate profits. The bond market prefers more subdued growth that will not lead to inflationary pressures. By tracking economic data such as industrial production, investors will know what the economic backdrop is for these markets and their portfolios.