Germany’s economy had its ‘worst month ever’ during April

Germany’s industrial production fell so sharply in April, at the height of the coronavirus lockdown in the country, that one economist has called it “the worst month ever” for the German economy, a key growth driver for the euro zone.

Industrial production fell by 17.9% in April from the previous month, following a 8.9% drop in March.

Compared to the same month in 2019, industrial production declined by 25.3%, Germany’s statistics office Destatis said Monday, noting that the drop was “the largest decline since the beginning of the time series in January 1991.”  The sharpest drop in production was seen in the auto industry, which recorded a decline of 74.6% month-on-month.

The numbers come after data Friday showed orders for Germany’s industrial goods in dropped 25.8% month-on-month in April, again the worst number since records began in 1991.

“Another sharp drop in industrial production shows that April 2020 will be the worst month ever for the German economy,” Carsten Brzeski, chief economist of euro zone and global head of macro at ING, said in a note Monday.