German industrial production declined in February, but not as sharply as expected.
Production was hit by falling activity in the manufacturing and energy sectors, the economy ministry said today.
The ministry calculated that factory output - a key yardstick for gauging the health of Europe's biggest economy - contracted by 0.5% in February compared with a month earlier, corrected for seasonal factors.
Analysts had been projecting in a sharper decline of 1.5% in February following a jump of 2.3% in January.
Manufacturing output was down by 0.5% month-on-month and energy output dropped by 1.8%, while the mild weather pushed construction output up by 1.3%, the ministry said.
