BERLIN: German industrial production grew more than expected in February despite a small drop in the construction sector, pointing to a robust start to the year, official data showed Monday.
Industrial output, a central driver of the German economy, expanded by 0.4 percent in February from output in January, the economy ministry calculated in preliminary data.
That was better than the 0.2-percent forecast by analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires.
It followed a 0.7-percent-rise in January which was revised slightly down from the figure that was initially released.
"Full speed ahead," commented Carsten Brzeski, of ING-DiBa, noting that despite the slight fall "the German construction sector is booming".
"All in all, today's numbers confirm once again that a strong growth performance, at least in the first quarter, is in the making.
"The German economy is powering ahead."
Economic activity slipped 0.1 percent in the construction sector after bounding 4.4 percent a month earlier thanks to a milder winter, while manufacturing output grew 0.5 percent.
The economy ministry highlighted in a separate statement that at the start of 2014 "industrial economic activity continued to intensify".
Taking December to February, industrial production grew by 1.9 percent compared to the previous three-month period to November.
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