BERLIN, Dec 7 Reuters German industrial production unexpectedly fell in October compared to the previous month, the federal statistics office said on Thursday, marking the fifth monthly decline in a row.

Industrial output declined 0.4 on the month. Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted a 0.2 rise.

The drop was due largely to a decline in production at the mechanical engineering sector of 6.3 on the month, the office said. However, production also fell in many other sectors, including construction.

The misery of German industrial production continues, said Thomas Gitzel, chief economist at VP Bank Group.

The weak order intake of the past two years is now having a merciless impact on production, he said.

German industrial orders also fell unexpectedly in October, declining by 3.7 on the previous month on a seasonally and calendar adjusted basis, data showed on Wednesday.

The German industrial sector continues to suffer from a combination of high energy prices, weak foreign demand and less favourable financing conditions, Commerzbank39;s senior economist Ralph Solveen said.

Thursday39;s figures are in line with the expectation that the German economy will continue to shrink in the fourth quarter, Solveen said.

In September, industrial production fell 1.3 monthonmonth, according to revised data compared to an reported decline of 1.4.initially.

The less volatile threemonth on threemonth comparison showed that production was 1.9 lower in the period from August…