Germany’s production in February down 2.9% month on month

09 April 2009 15:19  [Source: ICIS news]

TORONTO (ICIS news)--Germany's overall production continued to drop in February, falling 2.9% month on month after a 6.1% decline in January from December 2008, the country’s economics ministry said on Thursday.

Output in the industrial sector in February dropped 3.3%, while building and construction production was up 1.9% from January.

The ministry said it expected production in Europe’s largest economy to remain weak in the coming months as industrial orders were still falling in February.

On a two-month sequential comparison – January-February 2009 compared with November-December 2008 – production dropped 9.2%, mainly due to a 10.7% decline in industrial output. Building and construction fell 3.9%, while production of consumer goods fell 1.7%.

Compared with January-February 2008, production was down 19.3%, with industrial production down 20.8% and building and construction down 23.0%.

Germany’s real economy was expected to shrink about 5.0% in 2009, according to a projection last month by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Germany’s chemical industry association, VCI, said earlier that it expected a 3.5% decline in the country’s chemical production in 2009. Chemicals are Germany’s fourth-largest industrial sector.

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