Industrial production in Germany increased by 7.8 percent in May compared to the previous month, according to provisional data published by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) Tuesday.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, Germany's production index had fallen for several consecutive months, according to Destatis. Compared with February, the month before restrictions were imposed in Germany, production was still down 19 percent.
According to Destatis, production of consumer goods in Germany increased by 1.4 percent in May, while production of capital goods even picked up 27.6 percent compared to the previous month.
Production in the automotive industry also "increased markedly" from its April low when it had largely come to a standstill due to the COVID-19 crisis. However, production of the car industry was still almost 50 percent below the level in February, Destatis noted.
"Industrial production should have overcome its low point, but despite the recovery in May, capacities remain significantly underutilized," Germany's Ministry for Economic Affairs said Tuesday.
The ministry said that the increase in incoming orders in Germany would point to a further rise in production in the coming months. "However, the development of international demand in particular remains a risk to the further recovery."
Source: Xinhua |