ZCZC
BCN-36
GERMANY-ECONOMY-INDUSTRY-INDICATOR
German industrial production rebounds in May
BERLIN, July 6, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Industrial production in Germany bounced
back in May after slumping in April, official data showed Friday, as
manufacturers in Europe’s powerhouse economy appeared to brush aside global
trade war fears.
Industrial output surged 2.6 percent month-on-month, federal statistics
authority Destatis said, following a 1.3-percent contraction in April.
The increase beat expectations of analysts surveyed by Factset who had
predicted a modest 0.6-percent boost in production.
The upbeat report comes a day after data showing Germany’s industrial
orders revived in May, suggesting Europe’s largest economy may not face the
sharp slowdown some observers feared despite trade tensions with the United
States.
“This week’s data make it easier to become optimistic again,” said ING Diba
bank analyst Carsten Brzeski, noting it was the strongest performance for
industrial production since November.
“After months of disappointments this good news comes exactly at the right
time, washing away at least some of the concerns about the strength of the
German economy.”
May’s rise in industrial production was led by strong showings in consumer
and investment goods as well as construction output, which jumped 3.1
percent.
The economy ministry said the data pointed to a “moderately upward trend”.
Brzeski agreed: “After a period in which the assessment of the German
economy has gone from ‘up one minute, down the next’ in slightly more than
six months, it is in our view time for some matter-of-factness and — given
lowered expectations — even time for some modest optimism.”
Punishing US tariffs on Chinese imports took effect Friday, the first shot
in what Beijing called “the largest trade war in economic history” between
the world’s top two economies.
Meanwhile fears of a transatlantic trade war have intensified after US
President Donald Trump slapped punishing tariffs on steel and aluminium
imports, prompting retaliation from the European Union.
Trump last weekend charged that Europe is “possibly as bad as China” on
trade, as he reiterated that he is mulling import taxes of 20 percent on EU
cars.
BSS/AFP/HR/1425