German industry output falls 0.5% in March after stagnating in February

Frankfurt

GERMAN industrial production unexpectedly declined in March in a sign that Europe's largest economy remains vulnerable to global economic weakness.

Output, adjusted for seasonal swings and inflation, fell 0.5 per cent after stagnating in February, data from the Economy Ministry in Berlin showed on Friday. The typically volatile number compares with a median estimate of a 0.4 per cent gain in a Bloomberg survey. Production rose 0.1 per cent from a year earlier.

Patches of economic weakness around the world and the stand-off between Greece and its creditors risk dragging on an accelerating recovery in the euro area, Germany's biggest trading partner, even as the European Central Bank is making large-scale asset purchases. Yet, German business confidence is at a 10-month high and the Bundesbank predicts "quite robust" ec…