Brussels - Industrial output in the 17-nation eurozone rose 0.4% in February compared with January, when it fell 0.6%, official data showed on Friday.
Despite the monthly gain, eurozone industrial production was down 3.1% compared with February 2012, the Eurostat statistics service said.
For the 27-member European Union, output in February also rose 0.4% from January when it dropped 0.5%, but it was down 2.5% from a year earlier.
The latest figures continue a very mixed series which had appeared, like other recent data, to show the battered European economy touching bottom towards the end of last year.
The biggest monthly falls in February were in Estonia and Malta, each down 3.9%, and Lithuania, off 3.7%.
The largest monthly gains were in the Netherlands and Slovenia, both up 3.4%, followed by the Czech Republic on 1.6%.
Compared with February 2012, industrial output tumbled 7.5% in Finland, with Spain down 6.5%, Greece off 3.9% and Italy 3.8% lower.
The biggest annual gains were 6.5% in Romania, with Bulgaria up 5.1% and Slovenia up 3.3%.