German industry output recovers in April on investment surge

Bloomberg

German industrial production rebounded in April in a sign that Europe’s largest economy is benefiting from a pick-up in investment. Output, adjusted for seasonal swings, rose 0.8 percent from March, when it dropped a revised 1.1 percent, data from the Economy Ministry in Berlin showed on Tuesday.
In Spain, industrial production was unchanged in April from the previous month.
The German report comes a day after data showed factory orders dropped the most in nine months in April as export demand slumped. Still, business sentiment rose to the highest level in five months in May, and the Bundesbank said last week that growth should continue to benefit from a strengthening labour market and rising household incomes underpinning domestic spending.
“Sentiment among manufacturing companies has brightened somewhat in recent months,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that “manufacturing is expected to continue its moderate recovery after foreign trade-related weakness in the second half
of 2015.”
Investment-goods production expanded 2.2 percent in April after contracting for the previous two months, according to the report. Manufacturing rose 1.1 percent, with energy output increasing at the same rate, while construction fell 1.7 percent from March. Production rose 1.2 percent from a year earlier.
In Spain, where people are heading to the polls on June 26 for repeat elections, output rose a seasonally adjusted 2.7% in April compared with the previous year, beating a Bloomberg News survey calling for an increase of 2.4%.