BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Germany's industrial production fell at a record pace in March due to the impact of the coronavirus, or Covid-19, pandemic, preliminary data from Destatis showed on Thursday.
Industrial production dropped a seasonally and calendar-adjusted 9.2 percent month-on-month, which was the worst decline since the time series began in January 1991. Economists had expected a 7.5 percent fall.
In February, output grew a revised 0.3 percent.
Excluding energy and construction, production decreased 11.6 percent from the previous month.
Production of intermediate goods decreased 7.4 percent and those of consumer goods fell 7.5 percent. Capital goods output declined 16.5 percent.
Among sectors, a sharp drop of 31.1 percent was recorded by the automotive industry.
Output in the Printing and reproduction of recorded media fell 12.5 percent, and production in pharmaceutical industry decreased 11.8 percent. The clothing industry output fell 11.5 percent.
Energy production decreased 6.4 percent in March, while construction output increased 1.8 percent.
On a year-on-year basis, industrial production dropped a price and calendar-adjusted 11.6 percent in March after a 1.8 percent fall in February.
Earlier on Thursday, the think tank ifo reported that its industrial production index for the next three months plummeted to minus 51.4, a reunification low. This suggests that the German industry is expecting an unprecedented slump in production.
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