German Industrial Output Slips in March

German industrial output declined in March and exports of goods rose only moderately from the month before, but the economics ministry said Tuesday that the "positive tendencies" in Germany's industrial sectors should continue in the months ahead.

Industrial output in Europe's largest economy declined 0.4% from the previous month, adjusted for seasonal swings and calendar effects, according to the Destatis statistics office. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal forecast a 0.8% decline.

But Destatis revised its production estimates for the previous months. As a consequence, the increases in German industrial output in January and February were smaller than previously reported.

Overall, German industrial activity picked up slightly in the first quarter, the economics ministry said.

A small increase in German exports in March, meanwhile, was outstripped by a strong gain in imports. Exports rose 0.4% from February, in adjusted terms, while imports jumped 2.4%, according to Destatis.

As a consequence, Germany's adjusted trade surplus--or the balance of exports and imports of goods--declined to 19.6 billion euros ($21.4 billion) from 21.2 billion euros in February. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a ?surplus of EUR20.9 billion.

Write to Nina Adam at nina?.adam@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 09, 2017 02:43 ET (06:43 GMT)