Data published by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) showed that industrial production decreased by 0.4% in March after rising by 1.7% in February (revised from +2.1%). This was the first fall in 2024. Economists had expected a 0.6% drop. In annual terms, industrial production fell by 3.3%, slowing compared to February (-5.3%). Meanwhile, over the last three months (through March), industrial production grew by 1.0% compared to the previous three-month period.
Destatis said that production of consumer goods decreased by 1.4% m/m, while production of intermediate goods decreased by 0.6% m/m. Energy production also fell compared to February (-4.2%). Meanwhile, production of capital goods rose by 0.1% m/m, and production in construction increased by 1.0% m/m. Industrial production, excluding energy and construction, fell by 0.4% m/m and by 3.4% per annum. Production in energy-intensive industries remained unchanged compared to February, but increased by 2.3% per annum. The three-month on three-month comparison showed that production in these industrial branches was 4.8% higher in the period from January to March 2024 than in the previous three months.