A sharp decline in carmaking fuelled a downturn in German industry as production fell for the third consecutive month in July, intensifying pressure on Berlin to lift the economy out of the doldrums.
The 0.8 per cent month-on-month decline reported by Germany’s statistical office exceeded the 0.5 per cent fall forecast by economists in a Reuters poll. It would have been even bigger without a rebound in energy and construction output in July. Production in Germany’s carmaking sector fell 9 per cent.