German industry output up

German industrial output has risen for the fourth month in a row, signalling a resiliance in Europe's largest economy to the slower recoveries of weaker members in the 18-nation euro zone.

Adjusted for seasonal fluctuations, production in Germany in February had been 0.4 percent higher than one month before, the Economics Ministry in Berlin said Monday.

Experts said a major reason for the upswing in production had been an unseasonably mild winter, which had facilitated building construction and boosted retail sales.

„The German economy is powering ahead,“ ING economist Carsten Brzeski told German news agency dpa, adding that German industrial production was continuing the positive trend of the last few months“.

The figures exceed economists‘ expectations of 0.3 percent growth in February and seem to confirm earlier predictions by Germany's Bundesbank that the country is set to experience strong growth in the first quarter of this year.

In February, industrial orders were also rising, increasing by 0.6 percent - likewise the fourth consecutive month of growth.

„We're heading toward a bullish first quarter,“ Andreas Scheuerle from Dekabank said, although he expected growth to return to a more modest pace after the spring.

Producers of intermediate goods, such as chemicals, registered an increase of 1.3 percent, while manufacturers of consumer goods saw production rise by 0.3 percent.

Producers of capital goods, such as industrial machines, however, saw production slow by 0.2 percent. There was also 0.9 percent less energy produced in February than one month before.

cjc / (Reuters, dpa)