Industrial production in Germany continued its decline for the fourth month in August

Industrial production in Germany fell 0.2 percent in August, above expectations, for the fourth consecutive month as construction and energy production fell.

The German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) announced provisional data on industrial production for August.

Consequently, seasonally and calendar-adjusted industrial production decreased 0.2 percent in August compared to the previous month. A decline of 0.1 percent was expected in industrial production markets. Thus, the country’s industrial production continued its decline for the fourth consecutive month.

The decline in July industrial production, which preliminary data showed had declined by 0.8 percent on a month-on-month basis, was revised to 0.6 percent.

The data revealed that industrial production, excluding energy and construction, rose 0.5 percent in August compared to July.

In that period, the production of intermediate goods increased by 0.5 percent and the production of capital goods increased by 1.3 percent. Production of consumer goods fell 1.4 percent.

In statements from Destatis, “There are different developments in the industrial production sectors. “Falls of 2.4 percent in construction sector production and 6.6 percent in energy production negatively affected the result of industrial production in August 2023.” Statements were included.

THE GERMAN ECONOMY IS IN STAGE

The statement from the German Ministry of Economy and Energy states that order intake has varied considerably due to the density of large orders in recent months, and that indicators indicate that “industrial production may have reached its lowest level and may accelerate again at the beginning of the year.

VP Bank chief economist Thomas Gitzel also commented: “The drop in Germany’s gross domestic product will not be big, but this (industrial production) shows once again that the German economy is going nowhere in this moment”. he said.

The German economy contracted 0.4 percent in the final quarter of last year and 0.1 percent in the first quarter of the year, and failed to grow in the second quarter of the year.

The ability of many countries, especially China, to produce more and more imported goods from Germany, high energy prices and rising interest rates due to high inflation make it even more difficult for the German economy to grow. (AA)