BERLIN: German industry output dropped twice as far as expected in May in its biggest fall since October, suggesting Europe's largest economy is struggling to regain momentum after a contraction in late 2012 and a weak start to 2013.
Output fell by 1 percent on the month as factories produced fewer capital goods and the construction industry stuttered. The headline figure missed the consensus forecast in a Reuters poll for a 0.5 percent drop, data from the Economy Ministry showed on Monday.
The ministry said the overall trend for output, which rose by an upwardly revised 2.0 percent in April, remained positive despite May's decline.
"Forward-looking sentiment indicators point to the production industry's recovery continuing at a slightly reduced pace," the Economy Ministry said in a statement.
Capital goods production tumbled 2.3 percent, while construction output was down by 2.6 percent.
The drop tallied with data released last week showing that industrial orders dropped by 1.3 percent in May as demand for capital goods weakened.
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