German industrial production decreased unexpectedly in June, which was the first fall this year, as all sectors except energy experienced contraction.
Industrial output fell 1.1 percent month-on-month in June, in contrast to a 1.2 percent rise seen in May, data from Destatis revealed Monday.
Production declined for the first time in six months, while economists had forecast a modest 0.1 percent gain.
Excluding energy and construction, production in industry dropped 1.4 percent.
Within industry, all components except energy logged contraction from May. Production of capital goods slid 1.9 percent and that of intermediate goods by 1.2 percent. Likewise, consumer goods output showed a decrease of 0.7 percent.
Energy production grew 1.4 percent in June, while construction output dropped 1 percent.
On a yearly basis, industrial production growth halved to 2.4 percent in June from 4.8 percent in May.
In the second quarter, industrial output increased 1.8 percent from the previous quarter.
The economy ministry said the order intake as well as the indicators for the business climate suggest that the upward trend in industrial production continues.
Production should continue growing slowly in the coming months, Ralph Solveen, an analyst at Commerzbank, said. As the second quarter was even slightly better than first quarter, real GDP also expanded noticeably again.
An increase by 0.6 percent on the quarter seems to be on the cards, the economist added.
by RTT Staff Writer
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