Industrial output in Germany, the largest economy in Europe, rose 0.8 percent in December, much lower than expected, official figures showed Friday. For November, industrial output fell a revised 0.3 percent on the month, much better than the original estimate of a drop of 0.9 percent. Analysts had forecast a gain of 1.2 percent for December.
Combined figures for November and December, used to dampen seasonal fluctuations associated with the year-end holidays, showed industrial ouput flat with September and October but up 4.2 percent from a year earlier.
The economy ministry said the outcome reflected a slowdown in the fourth quarter but it expected further gains to come in the months ahead. On Thursday, figures showed that industrial orders in December fell a larger-than-expected 1.7 percent from November.