Financial News: German Industrial Production Falls Unexpectedly

German Industrial Production Falls Unexpectedly

(RTTNews) - Germany's industrial production dropped unexpectedly in February even before the outbreak of war in the Middle East, data from Destatis revealed on Thursday.

Industrial production fell 0.3 percent in February compared to January, when it was flat. Production was expected to grow 0.6 percent.

The monthly fall in overall production was due to a 1.2 percent decline in construction output and a 3.9 percent drop in the manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products. However, output in the automotive industry grew 1.7 percent.

Excluding energy and construction, industrial production was down 0.1 percent from January. Energy production registered a monthly growth of 0.3 percent.

Production of consumer goods slid 1.5 percent, while that of intermediate and capital goods rose 0.4 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively.

On a yearly basis, industrial output remained flat compared to a contraction of 0.9 percent in January.

Data released on Wednesday showed a moderate recovery in factory orders in February. Driven by the substantial growth in the auto industry, factory orders grew 0.9 percent on a monthly basis, in contrast to the 11.1 percent decline in January.

ING economist Carsten Brzeski said February's macro data shows that even without the war in the Middle East, the German economy was unfortunately on track for yet another quarter of contraction. The war in the Middle East made things worse, he noted.

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