Germany's industrial output unexpectedly surged in March, boosted by increased consumer goods production and construction growth, but the economy ministry warned that prospects for the region and the euro remain weak as Europe's largest economy suffers from trade wars and Brexit.
The volume of industrial production increased by 0.5 percent compared to the previous month, contrary to the forecast of a fall of 0.5 percent, according to data published by the Statistics Office. However, this is not a reason for the positive, the business climate in the manufacturing sector has become worse. Therefore, the situation in the industrial sector can still turn out even worse in the coming months. Recall, industrial orders after two months of a sharp decline in March rose less than expected. The economic and trade policy of US President Donald Trump under the slogan "America first" and the uncertainty that arose as a result of Britain's withdrawal from the European Union, hit the export-oriented economy of Germany. The country's authorities were forced to cut their growth forecasts for 2019 to 0.5 percent, a sharp decline after rising 2.2 percent and 1.4 percent in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
"After all, the German economy is still at the mercy of global economic events. Dependence on external demand is a burden in the atmosphere of trade conflicts and isolationist tendencies," said Thomas Gitzel, chief economist at VP Bank.
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