FRANKFURT: Spring appears to be arriving early for the German economy as industrial production picked up speed in January, official data showed yesterday.
Industrial output expanded by 0.8 percent in January, after inching up by 0.1 percent in December, the economy ministry calculated in preliminary data.
Analysts had been forecasting an increase of 0.7 percent for January.
Economic activity jumped by 4.4 percent in the construction sector, 1.1 percent in the energy sector and 0.3 percent in the manufacturing sector, the ministry said.
Taking December and January combined to iron out short-term fluctuations, industrial output grew by 1.7 percent compared with the preceding two months, the ministry calculated.
Analysts were cheered by the better-than-expected numbers, particularly after factory orders also surprised to the upside in January.
“German ‘hard’ data confirm what soft indicators like the Ifo index had suggested: Germany’s economy kicked off 2014 on a very strong note,” said Berenberg Bank economist Christian Schulz.
The expert said the mild winter weather probably played a role, as could be seen in the surge in construction output.
“The rude health of Germany’s domestic economy should enable Germany, and by extension the eurozone which benefits from German imports, to weather any potential turbulences emanating from the Ukraine crisis,” Schulz said.
AFP
