German industrial production unexpectedly drops; trade surplus narrows

Industrial production in Germany fell 0.3% in November from a 0.5% gain in October, according to data released by Destatis.

The figure fell well short of economists’ expectations for a 0.5% increase.

Meanwhile, production rose 0.1% from the same month the previous year, weaker than the 0.4% increase registered in October.

In separate data released on Friday, Destatis said seasonally-adjusted German exports rose 0.4% in November compared with a 1.3% drop in October, while imports were up 1.6% versus a 3.2% decline the previous month.

Exports were a touch below economists’ expectations but imports were a little better.

This narrowed the foreign trade surplus to €19.7bn from €20.5bn.

On the year, exports increased by 7.7% from 3.2% the previous month, while imports were up 5.3% compared with 3%.