Euro zone industrial output weak but skewed by Ireland, data shows

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Euro zone industrial production rose far less in September than economists had predicted, though the big economies fared well and the shortfall was due to volatility among big foreign companies based in Ireland for tax reasons.

Industrial production rose 0.2% on the month, well below expectations for a 0.7% rise in a Reuters poll of economists but an improvement on the 1.1% drop a month earlier.

Compared to a year earlier, output was up 1.2%, in line with the previous month but well below expectations for 2.1% in a Reuters poll.

Germany, the currency bloc's powerhouse, outperformed the overall euro zone with a 1.9% monthly increase and Italy expanded by 2.8%. France and Spain also grew above average.

Output in Ireland, however, fell by 9.4% on the month, a large swing that is not unusual for the country, especially since the onset of U.S. tariffs, which have forced firms to frontload some sales.

Given the sheer scale of earnings of the large companies headquartered in Ireland, Irish output often distorts the euro zone data, including for GDP growth, and some economists now exclude it from their calculations.

(Reporting by Balazs KoranyiEditing by Gareth Jones)