(Reuters) - German industrial production fell by 0.1% in April compared to the previous month, hampered by a weakening in the construction sector, the Federal Statistics Office said on Friday.
Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted a 0.3% rise.
Construction output fell by 2.1%, while the automotive industry grew by 4.2% month-on-month.
In the less volatile three-month comparison, production rose by 1% in the February-April period compared to the previous three months.
The data "rises fears that overall economic growth will be meagre in the second quarter," said Thomas Gitzel, chief economist at VP Bank. "Higher output in industry initially requires stronger growth in incoming orders."
Industrial orders also fell unexpectedly in April, marking the fourth month of decreases in a row, due to a significantly smaller number of large-scale orders.
"Yesterday’s drop in new orders as well as still high inventories show that any rebound in industrial activity will remain muted," said Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro at ING.