Shock drop in output recorded for Germany’s industrial firms
GERMANY’S industrial output took a tumble in May, according to statistics released yesterday, showing the biggest month-on-month drop in more than a year and a half.
Between April and May, production dipped by 1.8 per cent, with year-on-year growth of just 1.3 per cent, the slowest in 2014 for the Eurozone’s powerhouse economy.
“Today’s data was a chunky downward surprise, clearly. On a three months moving average, industrial production was down 1.1 per cent in May, which does not bode well for second quarter growth,” said Evelyn Hermann of BNP Paribas.
Spanish industrial production rose by 2.5 per cent year-on-year in May, according to figures which were also announced yesterday.
Growth was slower than in April, but still suggested that industry had expanded more rapidly in the second quarter.
“French and Italian figures out later this week will fill out the picture but it looks unlikely that industry will make much of a contribution to Eurozone GDP growth in the second quarter,” said Jonathan Loynes of Capital Economics.