German industrial output unexpectedly falls in October

By Miranda Murray

BERLIN (Reuters) -German industrial production unexpectedly fell in October, owing mainly to declines in energy production and in the automotive industry, the federal statistics office said on Friday.

Production was down by 1.0% in October from the previous month, the office said.

Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted a 1.2% rise after a upwardly revised decline of 2.0% in September and an increase of 2.6% in August.

“This means that the industrial economy is still in a downturn,” said the economy ministry in a statement.

Germany’s economy has been dogged by weak demand, intensifying competition from abroad and political uncertainty after a budget row brought down the three-way ruling coalition last month. A snap election will be held in February.

The overall decline in production was mainly due to a sharp drop of 8.9% in energy production, while there was a 1.9% fall in automotive output.

Industrial production excluding energy and construction was down 0.3% on the month after seasonal and calendar adjustments.

In the less volatile three-month comparison, production in the period from August to October was 0.4% down on the previous three months.

“Industry has made a botched start to the final quarter of 2024,” said VP Bank economist Thomas Gitzel.

“And looking ahead to next year, prospects will not improve for the time being, in view of the threat of a trade conflict with the most important trading partner, the U.S.”

Sentiment indicators in the manufacturing sector remain gloomy, with a 1.5% fall in German industrial orders in October.

The situation regarding incoming orders does not suggest that an upturn can be expected in the short term,” said Hamburg Commercial Bank chief economist Cyrus de la Rubia.

(Reporting by Anastasiia Kozlova in Gdansk and Miranda Murray in Berlin; Editing by Kevin Liffey)