Men work at the assembly line in the truck production plant of truck and bus-maker MAN AG in Munich, Germany July 30, 2015. — Reuters pic
FRANKFURT AM MAIN, Jan 9 — Industrial production in Europe’s top economy Germany regained some ground in November after two months of slippage, official data showed today, but exports from Europe’s powerhouse fell back.
Producer firms reported 1.1 per cent month-on-month growth in output, statistics authority Destatis said in seasonally-adjusted figures.
Meanwhile the statisticians also revised October’s production figure, calculating a fall of 1.0 per cent rather than 1.7 per cent as previously reported.
Looking to different areas of industry in November, only producer goods firms’ output slowed, while consumer goods makers added 0.5 per cent and capital goods firms 2.4 per cent.
But the economy ministry in Berlin cautioned against over-optimism in a statement.
In a two-month comparison of October-November to August-September, production fell 0.7 per cent, it noted.
“Weak economic performance in industry has not yet been overcome,” the ministry said, although, “stabilisation in new orders and improved expectations point to some brightening in the coming months.”
The challenge facing German industry was clear from trade data also released by Destatis Thursday, showing the country’s trade surplus -- the difference between its imports and exports — at €18.3 billion (US$20.3 billion) in November, down almost €2 billion on a year before.
Many manufacturers in the country depend on selling products abroad for a large share of their revenue.
But US-led trade wars and confidence weakened by other political developments like Brexit undermined demand over much of 2018 and 2019.
November saw exports fall 2.3 per cent month-on-month, to just under €113 billion, while imports retreated just 0.5 per cent to 94.6 billion.
Sales to Germany’s neighbours in the European Union and eurozone single currency area, as well as the rest of the world, all fell back.
Looking ahead, “2020 could well be a difficult year for economic performance in Germany,” said economist Jens-Oliver Niklasch of LBBW bank. — AFP