February output of 2.1 is second significant monthly rise
Construction production up almost 9
Autos and chemicals help lift manufacturing output to 1.9
Industrial output still around 8 below preCOVID level

April 8Reuters German industrial production rose more than expected in February due to the performance of the construction industry, the federal statistics office said on Monday.

Industrial production rose by 2.1 compared to the previous month. Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted a 0.3 rise.

The second consecutive large monthly rise confirms the sector has started the year on a better note, said Franziska Palmas, senior Europe economist at Capital Economics, after the sector closed the year deeply in contraction.

But we still expect it to struggle over the rest of 2024 on the back of weak demand and reduced competitiveness, Palmas said.

The monthonmonth increase in production in industry is largely due to a 7.9 increase in production in the construction industry, while production dropped 6.5 on the month in the energyproduction sector.

Manufacturing production, excluding energy and construction, was up 1.9 from January. This growth is largely attributable to a 5.7 increase in production in the automotive industry and of 4.6 in the chemical industry.

After a revision of the provisional results, production increased by 1.3 in January compared with December, instead of the initial estimate of 1.0.

The less volatile threemonthonthreemonth comparison…