Source: Sharecast
According to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, production rose by 1.7%, a notable improvement on April’s 2.2% slide and ahead of forecasts for a more modest 0.9% rise.
Across the wider EU, production rose by 1.5%, reversing April’s 1.6% decline.
Driving the growth were non-durable consumer goods - which sparked 8.5% in the Eurozone - and energy, up 3.7%. Capital goods were also higher, by 2.7%.
That helped offset falls of 1.7% in intermediate goods and 1.9% for durable goods.
Bert Colijn, chief economist, Netherlands, at ING, said: "Industrial production has been bouncing around in recent months, with US frontloading of Eurozone goods playing no small part.
"Much [frontloading] is related to pharmaceuticals: production increased by 27.7% in May, a new all-time high. With pharma not impacted by tariffs so far - although there have been threats - it looks like another spell of frontloading has boosted the May production numbers."
Pharmaceuticals are generally deemed non-durable consumer goods.
Among the Eurozone’s four biggest states, Germany - the biggest economy - posted a 2.2% jump in industrial production, following April’s 1.9% fall, while Spain ticked 0.6% higher.
France reported a 0.5% softening, although that was an improvement on the 1.4% decline seen in April.
However, in Italy industrial production fell 0.7%, following a 0.9% rise a month previously. In Ireland, a major pharma producer, industrial production soared 12.4%.
Colijn added: "In the months ahead, the picture for Eurozone industry remains muddied by all the tariff developments.
"Underneath all the trade war headlines, there are some positive signs of manufacturing bottoming out, but this seems to be a slow-moving process which could easily be derailed by high tariffs. Did someone say 30%?"
Year-on-year, industrial production rose 3.7% in the single currency bloc in May, and by 3.4% across the EU.