German Output in May Unexpectedly Drops in Sign of Slowdown

  • Production declined 1.3% in May vs. estimated 0.1% gain
  • U.K. decision to leave the EU could curb German growth

An employee works at a gas turbine factory in Berlin. factory orders fell more than anticipated in December.

Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

German industrial production dropped the most in 21 months in May in a sign that the headwinds from a global economic slowdown and political uncertainty in Europe damped activity.

Production, adjusted for seasonal swings, fell 1.3 percent from the previous month, when it rose a revised 0.5 percent, data from the Economy Ministry in Berlin showed on Thursday. Economists in a Bloomberg survey had predicted a 0.1 percent rise in the typically volatile gauge. Output fell 0.4 percent from a year earlier.