08.03.201607:12:00UTC+00Germany's Industrial Output Expands Most Since 2009

Germany's industrial production recovered at the fastest pace in more than six years in January, as mild weather boosted construction activity.

Industrial output grew 3.3 percent on a monthly basis in January, reversing a revised 0.3 percent fall in December, data from Destatis revealed Tuesday.

The growth was the fastest since September 2009, when output climbed 3.6 percent. Economists had forecast only a 0.5 percent rise for January.

Production in industry excluding energy and construction gained 3.2 percent in January.

Within industry, energy production edged up 0.1 percent, while the output in construction climbed notably by 7 percent.

At the same time, capital goods production increased 5.3 percent and consumer goods by 3.7 percent. The production of intermediate goods showed an increase of 0.4 percent.

Year-on-year, industrial production climbed 2.2 percent in January offsetting a 1.3 percent fall in December. Output was expected to drop 1.6 percent.

A moderate recovery of industrial activity is expected in the first quarter, the economy ministry said.

This was a good start into the year for the German economy, Ralph Solveen, an analyst at Commerzbank, said.

But the January figure presumably benefited from calendar effects and the mild weather, the economist noted. This suggests that production will fall again in the coming months, as is also signaled by order intake.

Data released on Monday showed that factory orders dropped marginally by 0.1 percent in January due to the weakness in domestic demand.