In the Euro Area, industrial production rose by 0.8 percent in January compared to the previous month. The European Union’s statistical office, Eurostat, released the seasonally adjusted industrial production data for the EU and the Euro Area for January. According to the data, industrial production in the Euro Area increased by 0.8 percent in January compared to December, remaining unchanged from the same period last year. Market expectations were that industrial production in the Euro Area would increase by 0.5 percent monthly and decrease by 0.9 percent annually. In the EU, industrial production increased by 0.3 percent on a monthly basis in January, while it decreased by 0.2 percent on an annual basis. In January, among EU countries, the highest monthly increase in industrial production was in Lithuania with 4.6 percent, Portugal with 3.7 percent, and Austria with 3.3 percent. The highest decrease, on the other hand, was in Malta with 12.9 percent, Denmark with 10.6 percent, and Slovakia with 7.3 percent. The highest annual increase in industrial production was in Ireland with 10.4 percent, Lithuania with 9.8 percent, and Croatia with 7.6 percent. The highest decrease was in Slovakia with 5.1 percent, Denmark with 4.4 percent, and Hungary with 4 percent.