Germany’s industrial output drops in November ’23

Germany’s industrial production fell unexpectedly in November 2023, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing the German federal statistics office.

This drop comes as the sixth monthly decline in a row. Production dropped by 0.7 per cent in comparison to the previous month, according to Reuters.

Analysts expectations polled by Reuters predicted a 0.2 per cent increase in that month.

“The unexpected fall in German industrial production in November shows that companies are increasingly reacting to falling order books,” Commerzbank’s chief economist Joerg Kraemer said.

The office also said that the industrial orders rose slightly by just 0.3 per cent month-on-month in November.

Production of capital goods also inched down by 0.7 per cent during that period, while the production of intermediate goods slipped by 0.5 per cent and consumer goods by 0.1 per cent.

Reuters also reported a 2.9 per cent drop in construction in comparison to the month before.

“December is likely to bring more negative surprises, with the first signs of economic fallout from the government’s fiscal woes, disruptions in the Suez Canal and reportedly weak Christmas sales,” said Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro at ING.

He also said that all of the aforementioned issues point to another small contraction in the fourth quarter.