Germany’s industrial production fell by 0.1% in January after a 0.5% decline in December, the country’s economy ministry said.
The data confounded expectations for a 0.6% increase. On a yearly basis, German industrial output rose by 5.5%.
During the reporting period, production in the manufacturing and mining industries expanded by 0.6%. In January, construction sank by 2.2%, while activity in the energy sector declined by 3.3%. German industrial orders saw a decrease of 3.9% in January amid a fall in demand for capital goods and essential goods. Year-on-year, industrial orders climbed by 8.2%.
Figures from Destatis showed exports fell by 0.5% month-on-month in January, making the fastest pace of decline over the past seven months. Analysts had expected a 0.75% increase.
Meanwhile, imports also declined by 0.5% to 89.7 billion euros. The seasonally adjusted trade balance was unchanged at 21.3 billion euros in January. Trade surplus increased to 17.4 billion euros from 18.1 billion euros in December.
In 2017, Germany’s exports and imports increased to record levels, and the trade surplus fell to 257.1 billion euros compared with the surplus of 259.3 billion euros in 2016.
