Overview
- Germany's industrial production rose 0.4% month‑on‑month in April, the federal statistics office Destatis reported.
- Exports unexpectedly increased 0.9% in April while imports rose 1.2%, narrowing the trade surplus to €14.5 billion.
- Destatis revised March's provisional drop from 0.7% to a much smaller 0.1% decline, softening the earlier fall in output.
- The April gains were concentrated in construction and energy‑intensive industries, with construction up about 2.4% and energy‑intensive output up 1.0%, while capital goods production fell.
- A less volatile three‑month comparison shows output down 0.5%, signaling that the monthly uptick may be temporary and adding downside risk to euro‑area growth and Q2 GDP prospects.