German Industrial Production Declines in October

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

Production was down by 1.0% in October compared to the previous month.

Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted a 1.2% rise after an 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.

The decline was largely attributed to a sharp drop of 8.9% in energy production, alongside a 1.9% fall in output in the automotive industry.

In a three-month comparison, production 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. He added that looking ahead to next year, prospects are not expected to improve due to the threat of a trade conflict with the U.S., its most important trading partner.