Germany's Industrial Production Slightly Up In May

Industrial production in Germany increased less than expected in May, official data showed on Thursday, signaling that the manufacturing sector recovery will be slow amid Russia-Ukraine war.

The country's industrial output increased by 0.2% month-on-month, below market expectations of 0.4%, according to provisional data released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis).

While production rose in the automotive and mechanical engineering sectors, there were declines in other sectors such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, paper, food.

On annual basis, the figure went down 1.5% compared to the same month last year.

Analysts said a small increase in industrial production was due to the ongoing war in Ukraine and COVID-19 restrictions in China which caused difficulties in the supply chain.

"It can be assumed that production is still affected by a high shortage of primary products," Destatis said. -