A monthly fall in German industrial production was dismissed as a blip yesterday after five months of rising output.
The decline of 1.1 per cent in June confounded forecasts for a rise after the 1.2 per cent increase in May.
It failed to prevent a quarterly rise in industrial figures, though, with factories producing 1.8 per cent more from April to June than in the first quarter.
The economy ministry said order levels and business climate indicators pointed to the upward trend continuing. “The business situation in industry continued to revive in the second quarter,” it said.
The Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce said: “A fundamental trend reversal is not expected because of strong domestic consumption, increased investment confidence and the revival of the global economy.”