German industrial production falls for fourth consecutive month

Source: Xinhua | 2019-02-09

The German industrial production fell unexpectedly for the fourth month in a row in December 2018, the Federal Statistics Office (Destatis) reported on Thursday.
After the price, seasonal and calendar adjustments, the industrial production in December 2018 was down by 0.4 percent from the previous month. Compared to the same month in 2017, it shrank notably by 3.9 percent, according to a statement of Destatis.
According to the statement, industrial production excluding energy and construction was up by 0.2 percent. Meanwhile, the energy production remained at the same level of the previous month, and the production in construction decreased by 4.1 percent outside industry.
In addition, Destatis revised the decline in the November 2018 from preliminary result of 1.9 percent to 1.3 percent.
"In view of declining orders and cautious sentiment indicators, industry is likely to continue to develop in a subdued manner," the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy noted in a statement.