German industrial production, exports rise unexpectedly in April

(Sharecast News) - German ​industrial production and exports rose more than expected ‌in April, according to official data published on Tuesday.

Industrial ​production increased by 0.4% month on month, the federal statistics office said. Analysts had forecast a 0.5% rise.

The less volatile three-month on ​three-month comparison showed that production was 0.5% lower in the period from February to April than in the ​previous three months, statistics office Destatis said.

The rise was driven by the construction and chemicals industries and fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment, offset by a 4.7% fall in automotive industry production.

In a separate statement, German exports rose by an unexpected 0.9% in April compared with the previous month.

Imports rose by ​1.2% ⁠on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis compared with March.

As a result, the trade ⁠balance ​slightly narrowed to a surplus ​of €14.5bn in April from €14.7bn in March.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com