Provisional figures show that German industrial output fell 1.1% in June from May, as markets worried about the chances of an economic downturn.
May showed a gain of 0.9% but this was revised lower from the economy ministry's initial estimate of 1.2%.
Industrial production in the biggest European economy grew by 2% for the second quarter as a whole, the ministry said, adding that several holidays and long weekends were a factor in June's decline. Economists had expected output to be stable.
The news will do little to soothe financial markets that have been unsettled by concerns that another global recession could be setting in as a result of the debt crises in Europe and the US.
A breakdown of the ministry's numbers indicated that the largest decline was in durable consumer goods like home appliances, with output down 6.3%.
On Thursday, economy ministry figures showed that orders for German industrial goods climbed by 1.8% in June, defying a forecast fall of 1.2%, due to bulk orders from abroad, in particular from other euro zone countries.
