Germany's industrial production decreased in July at a notably faster rate than economists had forecast, latest data showed Friday.
Industrial production fell a seasonally and calendar-adjusted 1.7 percent in July from the previous month, marking a deterioration from June's 2 percent increase, preliminary data released by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology showed. Economists had forecast production to record a 0.5 percent contraction in July
Driving the downturn, output of capital goods fell 3.4 percent from a month earlier, and intermediate goods production dropped by 1 percent. Costs of consumer goods were lower by 1.2 percent than in June.
Compared to July 2012, industrial production fell 2.2 percent in July, reversing the previous month's 0.1 percent gain. Economists were looking for a 0.9 percent annual increase.
During the June-July period, industrial output increased 0.5 percent from the preceding April-May period, data showed.
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